Never Let Go
by AFangirlofSorts
Summary: Skye had spent all her life looking for her parents, only fate would have her move down the hall from her mother, Agent Melinda May, the Cavalry. In SHIELD Skye had found the one thing always wanted, a family. She had it all, until it fell apart and now she will do everything in power to hold on and never let go to what's left. (Canon story, various parings are explored).
1. Prologue

**Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Background: First One- shot. Just an idea I'd been playing around with for the past few days and then this happened. Mild Philinda cause I ship it hard. And just thought I'd say, the baby is supposed to be Skye.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

 **Updated: 1/15/17**

 **Hey readers. If you are new to this story, then this message is for you. This story is made up of two seasons. The summary above is meant to describe season one of this story while the first summary seen is meant to describe both seasons overall. Just to clear up any confusion on that. Anyway, hope you enjoy and read through it all. Promise it's worth while.**

* * *

"You're doing great Agent May."

Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. For months Melinda had been dreading, but also excited about this day, the day  
in which her baby was born.

"Take deep breaths, you're doing fine."

Breathing heavily, Melinda laid propped up on the bed with a cool cloth on her sweaty forehead. By her side was none other than an old friend of hers, a partner and fellow agent by the name of Phillip Coulson. Phil held her hand and she squeezed it as  
hard as she possibly could without breaking his hand.

"You can do this Melinda, I know you can," Phil whispered to her.

The past nine months, Phil had been there for her, supporting her and being the friend she needed. Melinda bit her bottom lip hard trying to keep herself from screaming, but the pain was too much and she could not stop the tears blinding her vision. A  
sharp contraction took her by surprise and she cried out gripping Phil's hand harder than she ever thought possible.

"Almost there," Phil told her calmly.

An ear piercing scream escaped Melinda's mouth as the tears streamed down her cheeks. For what felt like hours, lasted only a few seconds before Melinda's screams faded and a sharper, higher cry filled the room.

"Yes, beautiful," she heard the doctor say, "It's a girl May. It's a girl."

Melinda closed her eyes, she didn't want to know the gender of the baby. Before she was brought here, she had specifically told the doctors not to tell her the baby's gender. This way she would never know anything about the baby, this way she could let  
go of the child without having anything to hold onto. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but knowing she had a girl made her heart ache.

"May," the doctor questioned as he positioned himself behind Phil to look at the exhausted woman.

Melinda closed her eyes and shook her head, "Don't bring the baby any closer," she growled refusing to look at the infant.

She couldn't look at the baby, she couldn't know anything else about the baby she just gave birth to.

"Melinda," Phil said gently, "You know- you know you can still change your mind."

Phil had his blue eyes trained on his partner, willing her to listen to him, willing her to look at him. He knew how difficult this was for her and all he wanted was to make her happy and show her that he was there for her. To show her that he would always  
be there for her. The baby continued to cry and the sound broke Melinda's heart, the longer the baby stayed near her, the more she was tempted to hold her.

Melinda bit her bottom lip, squeezing her eyes shut she told Phil hoarsely, "No. I can't be a mother Phil." In his usual smug and calm tone he told her, "I think you can."

She opened her eyes and looked at Phil, "Take the baby out of here," she said sternly willing the tears in her eyes not to fall, "Take the baby Phil and go."

Phil made no sign he was going to do as she asked. This was his last chance to convince Melinda to keep the baby, this was his last chance to help his partner.

"I can't do that May," he told her, "Hold her. Hold her one time Melinda, if not you will regret it. You will regret not holding your baby girl once."

Melinda squeezed her eyes shut again and closing her mouth. She shook her head in response unable to find any words to say without her voice cracking or releasing the sobs threatening to escape. This was too much for her handle, it was too much for her  
to take in all at once.

"Melinda, look at me," Phil said to her sternly. He needed her to hear him on this, he needed her to understand and face this,"Just one time" he said to her, "This way when you look back at this, you can say you held your baby once."

Melinda shook her head once again, "Phil," she said hoarsely, "Take the baby and leave."

Phil released May's hand, he stood up and looked at the baby who was still crying, but it was slowly fading away. Phil stared at the infant, her little bright red face as she continued to cry and for a long moment, Phil stood in his spot not willing to  
move while he held the child in his arms gently. Phil tore his eyes away from the baby to look at Melinda, her eyes were open, but she was staring at the ceiling still biting her bottom lip. The world seemed none existent to Melinda, the only thing  
she could focus on was the cries of her baby.

"May look at her," Phil told her gently, "Hold her one time May. If not you will never forgive yourself for not holding her, for not looking into her eyes."

Melinda felt something snap in her, she wanted to hold the baby, but knew that she couldn't. She knew if she held that baby crying in Phil's arms her world would be forever changed and that was not something she was ready for. This was not something Melinda  
was sure she could handle.

"I can't," Melinda told Phil through gritted teeth.

"Tell me why," Phil demanded, "Why can't you hold her once May."

"Because I know if I hold her I won't be able to let her go," Melinda cried.

She looked at Phil with pained glossy brown eyes. She knew if she held her child, she would never be able to let the child go and she needed to let go. Melinda couldn't be a mother, she needed to do what was best for her daughter and what was best for  
herself.

Phil only smiled at her, "Is that such a bad thing," he asked her taking a step closer to her bedside.

Melinda looked at Phil nervously, her eyes drifting to the child in his arms, "Phil..." she whispered, "I can't."

"Hold out your arms," Phil instructed in a gentle, but stern tone.

Melinda stared at Phil, but did as he asked and watched as he lowered the infant into her shaky arms. Once in her arms, the little girl stopped crying almost immediately and opened her little eyelids to reveal soft nut brown eyes. As soon as Phil released  
the baby, Melinda pulled her daughter closer unable to look away from the little infant in her arms. Melinda stared into the baby's eyes and could no longer hold back the sobs that had been welling up in her throat. This was her baby. This was her  
baby girl, her daughter.

A smile broke onto her face, she laughed as the tears fell down her cheeks. "Hello," Melinda said softly to the baby with a watery smile, "It's nice to meet you…"

Melinda's breath caught in her throat. The idea of letting this baby go and allowing someone else to take her was enough to break Melinda's heart, but now the idea seemed to destroy her. And she knew in that moment, looking down into the baby's brown  
eyes she was going to keep her baby.

Melinda brought the baby closer to her face and whispered, "I will never let you go."

Phil rested his hand on Melinda's shoulder as she pressed her lips to the baby's forehead, knowing she would do anything and everything in her power to keep the baby safe and to never let go.


	2. Chapter 1

**So I did it, I decided to make this a multi-chapter story. Now a fair warning, I like the idea that May is actually Skye's mother, so that's what this story will be about. May being her real mother, how they handle it while being on the team and with a few flashbacks to the time when Skye was a baby and a little before then to. This chapter shows the past and present, however most chapters will be present. This is just a heads up for this story. Anyway, I hope you stick around and see where it goes.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Four hours ago, Melinda had given birth to a strong, healthy and beautiful baby girl with the biggest brown eyes she had ever seen. A few minutes after Melinda decided she would keep her daughter, the doctors returned to check on her and the newborn. Although reluctant, Melinda allowed the doctors to take the baby under the condition Phil was with the baby the whole time. Phil promised that he would not let the baby out of his sight and Melinda knew he meant it. Once Melinda was alone, she let exhaustion take over and got some sleep.

It was eight in the evening when she and Phil arrived, but when she last looked at the time before she fell asleep, it was nearing midnight. Melinda sighed contently, she closed her eyes and sleep welcomed her with open arms however it was short lived. When she woke up again it was almost three in the morning and still incredibly dark outside. Melinda looked around the hospital room and at first glance she didn't remember where she was or how she had got here.

She tried to sit up, but the pain in her sides made her lay back down and she remembered all the events of yesterday. Panic washed over her when she realized her baby wasn't in the room. Her heart hammered away in her chest causing the beeps from the machine to accelerate.

"May," she heard someone whisper to her calmly, it was Phil.

He was sitting half asleep in the chair beside her bed, "Phil," Melinda questioned as she tried to sit up again, but was stopped by the pain again.

Phil stood up from his chair and told her, "it's okay. Everything's fine, you're in the hospital. The baby is fine, a nurse came in a few minutes ago to run another check on her. They want to make sure they didn't miss anything, but so far every test has come back with good results."

Melinda relaxed slightly, her baby was safe and healthy, but she suddenly became irritated. Phil told her he wasn't going to let the baby out of his sight, but here he was, with her and without the baby.

"Why aren't you with her," Melinda asked and the look of panic on Phil's face was enough to make her smile.

However after a second he covered it up and said, "I didn't want to leave you here. Especially if you woke up alone and without the baby. Don't worry, someone who I trust is with the baby."

Melinda nodded, she would have argued with him, but was too tired to put up much of a fight. This was too surreal for her, how one minute she was determined to give up her child, then the next decided she would keep her. It made Melinda think about what she was going to do after this. She didn't have anything to take care of a baby.

"Phil," Melinda choked, she looked up at him, "What am I going to do? I don't know how to take care of a baby, let alone how to be a mother. I'm not… I'm not ready for this."

Phil had known Melinda for years and had never seen her so vulnerable, at least not the way of her being helpless. He has seen her broken before, but never helpless and that was how she looked here. Helpless, frightened and unsure.

Phil took his seat by Melinda and held her hand, "I know you're scared," he said, "But you don't have to worry. You may not know what to do now, but you will figure it out and most of all you won't be alone."

Tears were swimming in Melinda's eyes, she gripped his hand tighter and admitted, "I'm terrified Phil. I'm so afraid."

Phil offered her a kind smile, "I know you are, but trust me Mel, you'll be a great mother."

Melinda scoffed, "How," she asked, "I have nothing to go off of and nothing to take care of this baby."

S.H.I.E.L.D. had an interesting way of 'paying' their agents. Most of the time the agency only took care of essential things such as paying their bills and giving them enough money for the necessities of life. Even though Melinda knew S.H.I.E.L.D. would take care of everything, she didn't want them to. She didn't want S.H.I.E.L.D to know about this.

Phil only smiled, "Like I said before, you don't need to worry. We will take care of this."

"We will," Melinda asked still not convinced she could do this.

"Yes we will," said a third voice.

A tall man with dark skin and an eyepatch walked in with the child in his arms. It was none other than Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Director Fury," Melinda said looking at her boss with complete shock, "What are you doing here?"

The director smiled at Melinda, "I'm here to offer my services for you and this precious baby. You want something, consider it yours."

Melinda looked at Phil still surprised, "You brought him here?"

Phil nodded, "Yeah, I knew you were worried and were going to need some help, so I called in a favor from our director."

Melinda looked back at Fury still recovering from the shock of his arrival. The first time she had met Fury was when she entered the academy with Phil and after all this time, he had become one of her most trusted friends.

Fury handed Melinda her baby who was sleeping peacefully, "She really is beautiful," Fury commented as he released the baby.

Melinda smiled at her daughter and said, "Yeah, she really is."

Melinda looked away from her baby and told Phil, "Thank you Phil, thank you for giving me this chance."

"Don't thank you me," Phil replied, "This was all you Melinda. Now get some rest, Fury and I will take care of everything."

Melinda smiled at them, words could not express how grateful and happy she was to have her baby girl still in her arms. Now all that was left was a name, she had a few idea in mind, but there was one that stuck out to her.

"May I ask," Fury started, "what you plan to name her?"

Melinda grinned, she had the perfect name for her daughter.

* * *

 **20+ Years Later**

Skye walked into Coulson's office nervously, fearing where this conversation would lead and how badly it would end. Coulson had his back to her, but he heard her walk in and take a seat in front of his desk.

"I didn't want anything to-" Skye started to explain, but Coulson interrupted her.

"Stop lying," he snapped and turned around to look at her, "From the moment you set foot on this plane, you've been lying to my face, to all of us."

Skye started to protest, "I haven't-"

"You're lying now," Phil cut her off, his blue eyes full of anger, but also hurt, "I stood up for you, to my team down there and some of us started to believe in you, risked our lives for you."

Tears were swimming in Skye's eyes, "I-I" she tried to speak, but couldn't find the words.

"Why are you here," Coulson asked, "You've been keeping something from us, this whole time and it wasn't just a boyfriend."

He looked into her glossy brown eyes and told her sternly, "You have a secret Skye and one chance to come out with it. That's now or I'm done with you."

His words cut Skye like a knife, even though she had a different reason for staying, she had really come to care about the people on this plane. The thought of leaving was enough to break her heart. At first she didn't move, only looked down knowing this was her last chance to make things right. Biting her bottom lip, she moved her arm and pulled out a small chip from her bra and placed it on his desk.

Coulson stared at the chip before asking, "What is this?"

Skye looked up at him teary eyed and said hoarsely, "It's everything I have."

"On us," Coulson questioned, picking up the small chip in his hand.

"On me," Skye answered her voice cracking as she continued, "That's why I learned to crack systems, why I joined the rising tide, to find any details I could about my parents."

Coulson plugged the chip into the monitor and a bunch of files pulled, but one came straight to the front and held his attention.

"There's nothing," Skye said sadly, "no records. There's no trace of them." A tear fell down her cheek, "My lifelong search has led to a single document. Redacted."

Coulson took a short breath, he looked at the monitor and stared, "By S.H.I.E.L.D." he finished.

Coulson looked at Skye and saw a broken girl, who just wanted answer, who wanted to know why she was left alone. The look in her eyes was enough to make his chest ache.

Skye held his gaze and told him, "No matter what you do, I'll never stop looking."

Those words sounded so familiar in Coulson's head, like he had heard them a thousand times from someone he cared about. Her words echoed in his mind, repeating themselves over and over again.

 _No matter what you do, no matter what Nick or anyone else does, I will never_ ever _stop looking._

Coulson's expression softened, he whispered, "You might not like what you find."

"It can't be worse than what I've imagined," Skye said barely holding back the tears forming in her eyes.

Coulson took a step closer, he knew where this might lead, but he would help her, "Maybe I can help," he said and handed her a black box.

Without another word, Coulson left Skye alone to her thoughts and to accept his offer at a second chance or go. Coulson went to the centre first, but it appeared Ward and May had left. He needed to talk to May, if there was anyone with experience in searching through files and history records, it was May.

May was sitting in the pilot seat of the BUS, she didn't need to fly the plane though since it was on autopilot, but she like the solitude. It allowed her to be in her own little world while everything else disappeared. Coulson opens the door to the cockpit to see May sitting in her usual seat watching the endless night sky.

"Mind if I join you," Coulson asked, he didn't expect May to answer and she didn't. "Thanks," he smiled and took a seat in the passenger side.

May glanced over at Coulson for a moment, wondering why he was here. She knew that Skye had been in his office and would be lying if she said she wasn't curious to see how things went.

"Skye's going to stay," Coulson said practically reading May's mind.

"That's a risk," May replied.

Coulson only shrugged, "She told me," he looked at May, "She told me the reason why she learned to hack and why she was here. It was to find her parents. Her search for them led her to one document. A document that S.H.I.E.L.D. redacted in '89."

The year of 1989 had been a hard year for Melinda May and even now she hasn't fully recovered from that time. It still haunted her sleep, it haunted her almost every second of every day.

"Why tell me this," May asked wondering why Coulson was really here.

She knew he was here for a reason and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like this reason of his. However May wasn't sure if she was going to like this reason. Coulson continued to look at May even though she wouldn't meet his gaze.

With soft blue eyes and replied, "I could use your help, to find the un-redacted version of this document."

May felt her heart stop in her chest as she put the pieces together as to why Phil was here. 1989 was a terrible year for May and having to search through all documents relating to that year again seemed like torture. She had seen every file of that year. Every record put in from that year forward she had seen.

"That's cutting it close Phil," May finally said.

She looked over at Coulson and he knew exactly what she meant. Even though so many years had passed, May never stopped looking like she told him, she would never stop looking for her daughter. He knew she would never quit, Skye's words reminded him of what May had said and it made him think. He had theory, one that was far fetched no doubt, but not impossible. On his own, Coulson would do his own research, but he would do it in secret.

"I know," Coulson admitted.

He knew how May felt about these things, but he was going to need her help. He wanted to help Skye find her parents or learn what happened to them at least, since he couldn't help May like he wanted, he wanted to help Skye. Hoping if he could reunite a child with parents or the truth even, maybe he would be able to forgive himself.

Coulson sighed, "That's why I want your help. You've seen plenty of files and seen a lot of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history. I figure by helping Skye find her parents or the truth." Coulson paused, he looked into May's dark brown eyes, "I know you could help us, but I understand if it's too much to ask."

May thought about it and for minutes the pair sat in silence. This situation was something May was familiar with which was why she didn't want to be involved. However despite what Skye had done, she liked the young girl. In a way, Skye reminded her of the way she used to be before the accidents that crushed her heart. Maybe this was a chance to find closure, a chance to bury the hatchet. Even though May would never stop searching, perhaps this was a chance for her to atone her own guilt over what happened all those years ago.

"Okay," May replied, "I'll look into it."

Coulson smiled graciously at May, "Thank you," he stood up and walked to the door, "I'll leave you alone. Goodnight May."

May didn't respond, she only watched the night sky as she heard Phil's retreating footsteps followed by the closing of her door.

* * *

 **Penny for your thoughts? *Holds virtual penny***


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey readers, I just wanted to say thank you for all the follows and favorites, it really means a lot and makes me happy. Seeing all you guys made me want to post faster, so I did *tee hee* anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

May had been sitting in front of Coulson's desk reading the files she had found relating to the un-redacted document about Skye. When she first found the files she hadn't paid much attention to what was inside, she only gave them to Coulson to read, but now having read the documents was growing more concerned. So far what she had read was less than appealing, but a starting place nonetheless.

"You finish reading it yet," Coulson asked as he entered his office.

May nodded, "Mm," she looked up at him curious and asked, "What did you tell her?"

Coulson took a moment, but said, "The truth, I told her a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent dropped her off at the orphanage."

May tilted her head to the side slightly, knowing there more to it than what Coulson said. A lot more in fact.

Her brow slightly furrowed she stated, "But you didn't tell her why."

Coulson swallowed hard, "I can't," he said softly, "Some secrets, are meant to stay secret."

May held Coulson's gaze for a moment before looking back at the files. This was such a complicated situation, one that made little sense to May or to Coulson.

"Will you help me, find out what really happened," Coulson asked, his expression pleading.

May raised her eyebrows, "Dangerous waters," she stated knowing that whatever was buried beyond these files was dark.

However, the look on Coulson face said he didn't care and wanted to know. May thought about it for a moment, but decided she would help.

Leaning forward she said, "I can try."

Coulson smiled, "Thank you.." he paused and looked away from May before he found the courage to pitch his idea, "May, I want to run a blood test through all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents. Through the Archive."

May gave Coulson a puzzled looked, "Why? We know the agent who dropped her off wasn't her mother and what happened before Skye was found by S.H.I.E.L.D. was in China. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents weren't involved until the incident."

Coulson frowned slightly, "Not necessarily. We don't know the agent who dropped her off was or wasn't her mother. We also don't know if anyone else in S.H.I.E.L.D. has any connection to her. If there's a match, then great and if not, then we can rule them out and move forward."

May thought about it for a few seconds. It wasn't a bad idea to run Skye's blood through the system, besides who knew what they might find. Although still worried, she agreed.

"Alright," May replied, setting the files down she said, "Let's see what we can find."

"Thank you," Coulson smiled and May returned his smile with a small grin.

"Are you going to tell her about this," May asked her colleague.

Although it didn't seem like the best idea to tell Skye about it, they both knew leaving the young girl in the dark would only end badly. However, May wasn't so sure telling Skye they were looking for her parents in S.H.I.E.L.D. was that smart. After all, if they came up short, Skye would be devastated. Neither Coulson or May wanted to see that.

Coulson sighed, "I know I should, but I'm worried to see how she'd react if we don't find something or if we did. If we found something and showed her, she would keep digging and digging before we had a chance to find out anything. And if we don't find anything, she would have gotten her hopes up only to have them come crashing down."

May nodded in agreement, "I suggest tell her if we find a match. If there is no match, then we don't have to tell her."

Coulson paused, "Alright," he said, "What am I supposed to tell her I'm taking the blood for?"

"I don't know, tell her it's protocol," May suggests even though she isn't sure Skye would buy it.

Coulson sighs, "It will have to do, tomorrow I'll get Skye's blood and put it through the Archive which should take about two- three hours."

May nods, she stands up from her seat and says, "Tell me how it goes. You know where to find me."

Without another word, May leaves the files on his desk and turns to leave.

However Coulson stops her, "I just wanted to say," he says nervously, "I know how hard this must be on you... She would be proud of you, for everything."

May felt the weight of his words on her shoulders as she stood frozen in her spot. All sorts of emotions began to swirl inside May, anger, grief and sorrow, but most of all guilt.

"No," May whispered softly fighting to keep herself in check, "I don't think she would be."

Before Coulson could respond, May walked out of his office and headed to her bunk. May sat on her bed, her heart was pounding harder and harder in her chest the more she thought about her daughter. A small baby with big brown eyes that mirrored her own, a scruff of dark brown hair on her small head and a smile. As soon as May brought her baby home, the infant immediately learned how to smile and it was one of the most beautiful things May had ever seen.

Some days she doubted she would ever find out what happened to her, but even in her doubt she kept looking. Whenever the opportunity arose, she would search and search until she found something. May drew a long breath, she refused to continuing thinking like this. There were other things she needed to focus on, the past was definitely not one of them.

* * *

Five days had passed since Coulson told Skye about the agent who left her at orphanage. Coulson had been able to get a sample of Skye's blood without a hitch. To his surprise Skye didn't really question why he wanted her blood. However he had been hesitant to put it through, he was worried something would come up while the blood was being tested and had been waiting. Since there were no new missions or ops that Coulson had seen, he decided to put her blood through the system while his team was occupied.

As of now he was watching the younger agents of the group sitting outside the command center playing a board game. He assumed it was monopoly considering all the fake money that was piling up on Ward's side of the board. There wasn't any sound coming from the monitor, but by the way Skye was yelling at Fitz, he could tell it wasn't going well. A part of Coulson thought it would be a good idea to join them, but decided against it. In all honesty he wasn't really feeling in a game mood. For the past two hours he had been waiting to get the results about Skye, he knew it might take a little longer than he anticipated since it would have to go through every agent in S.H.I.E.L.D. until it found a match.

He checked his watch again, it was nearing the three hour mark and he figured soon he should check again. It was sitting in the lab downstairs, but May had been down there for a little while doing some inventory, since she didn't need to fly the plane and wasn't interested in playing a board game. She decided to make sure they had everything where it needed to be while keeping an eye on Coulson's laptop. She thought it was sloppy for him to leave it down here where anyone could walk in and see what he was doing.

However she was happy she could watch it if something came up and too make sure no one else saw it. May was looking through some drawers when out of nowhere, the laptop started beeping rapidly and the screen had in big caps the words, MATCH FOUND. May's heart fluttered in her chest as she looked at the words, they had found a match for Skye. The question that remained was who was the match. May took a seat and began to unlock the results, but as soon as she saw the match her heart stopped beating and the world vanished.

Her brown eyes widened in shock and disbelief, "This can't be right," she whispered to herself.

A whirl of emotions washed over May as she continued to stare at the screen in complete surprise and confusion. This wasn't possible, the system must have made an error somewhere along the way.

Coulson walked down the stairs and saw May staring at the screen, "Did we find a match," Coulson asked.

For a moment May thought about lying, but she knew she couldn't hide this, instead she stayed silent. Once Coulson was by her side, she stood up from her seat and took several steps back until she was pressed against the glass door. Coulson looked from May and back to the screen and had the same shocked expression she wore not a minute ago. He looked away from the screen at the other agent who now wore her usual blank mask to hide what she was feeling and thinking. However Coulson could see the tears swimming in her eyes.

"May.." Coulson started, he stood up and held her gaze, "I don't know what to say."

May shook her head and looked away from him, "It's a mistake," she breathed, "It's not possible Coulson."

Coulson moved closer to her, "No I don't think so," he said sternly, "May… this system never runs into any issues… It's true, Skye's… she's your daughter."

May bit her bottom as hard as she could refusing to look at Coulson, refusing to show how vulnerable she felt. This wasn't possible, she couldn't believe this was happening. For years May had been looking, looking for anything on her daughter, but had found nothing. Now here she was, on the same plane as her playing monopoly upstairs with her team. No, it was too good to be true. It couldn't have been this simple.

"Run it again, I need to know for sure," May said fighting to keep her voice even, "Do you still have some of Skye's blood?"

Coulson nodded, "I do."

May still wasn't looking at Coulson, she walked over and grabbed the necessary equipment to take blood while Coulson grabbed the remaining bit of Skye's blood in a vial. He knew how to test blood for relation, he knew it would be more effective to have a DNA sample, but also knew that would take longer. Considering what he had just read, he knew it needed to be done now so May could know for sure. In tense silence, Coulson drew some of May's blood and began to the test. May couldn't watch, afraid of what the test would reveal. This couldn't be real. The test was over after twenty minutes of complete silence and the result was the same.

"May," Coulson said to his partner who refused to look at him, "May… it's her. It's really her."

May didn't know what to feel, she knew she should feel happy, but the only thing she felt was pure fear. Her daughter was upstairs. May felt a rush of joy wash over her, she pictured Skye in her head trying to wrap her head around that she was her daughter. A smile inched it's way onto May's face as she stared at her hands in shock. Could it be after all this time she had finally found her daughter, her lost baby? The joy May felt disappeared, she didn't know what to do or how to handle this and the fear of what might come from this petrified her.

Coulson watched May in silence, he could see she was struggling with what to do. He wondered what she was thinking, he wondered how she was feeling about this. He could tell his friend was conflicted, but he couldn't understand why. For years she had been looking, for years she had been searching for her, for her daughter and now… At first he saw her smile, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"She can't know," May finally said.

Coulson was not expecting those words to come out of May's mouth. He had expected words like, 'I can't believe it' or 'this amazing.'

"May," Coulson sighed, "You have to tell her. You've been looking for her and she's been looking for you."

May shook her head, she stood up and started to walk away fighting the tears in her eyes and the sobs that were rising in her throat. Coulson grabbed May's hand forcing her to stop walking. She wouldn't look at him, she only stared straight ahead thinking of the baby she lost over two decades ago and picturing the young woman upstairs. The young woman who had brown hair like her father, the girl who had a mixture of their skin tones and the eyes that mirror her mothers.

Those same same nut brown eyes that May had fallen in love with long ago. May closed her eyes, she remembered looking into Skye's eyes for the first time when they were dealing with Mike and Centipede. She remembered the feeling of deja vu, but she had pushed it aside.

"Melinda look at me," Coulson said softly, "I know you are probably feeling a million different things right now, but… it's your daughter. Skye is your daughter and she is upstairs playing a board game. You don't have to tell her now, but soon."

May took a deep breath, she looked at Coulson with a broken expression, "We'll find out what happened to her, but that's it. She can't know Coulson," May whispered, her voice breaking, "It's like you said before, some secrets are better kept secret…"

May couldn't hold out any longer, the tears rolled down her cheeks and shoulders began to shake. "Oh my God," she sobbed and buried her face into her hands.

Coulson wrapped his arms around her shaking form and rested his chin on top of her head. He held her tightly, knowing there were no words to comfort her, right now she just needed to cry. She just needed to release all the emotions she had buried for over twenty years. Slowly she began to sink to her knees, Coulson stayed with her going to the floor as she did. May buried her face into Coulson's chest and sobbed, not holding anything back.

Coulson rubbed her back, "I know," he whispered softly, "It's okay. It's going to be okay."

Coulson hated to see his friend so broken, but there was nothing he could do to fix it. She had just found her daughter and had no idea how to handle it or what to do about it.

"A.C." he heard Skye call and May instantly stiffened, "A.C.? Agent May? We're setting up again and I wanted to know if either of you guys wanted to play with us? We need someone to beat Ward and none of us..."

Before Coulson could tell her not to come in, Skye was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking directly at May in Coulson's arms. Surprise washed over her features with a little bit of panic.

"What happened," she asked, "Is everything okay?"

She walked over to the lab and stood in the open door, but Coulson stopped her from coming any closer.

"She'll be fine Skye," Coulson told her, "Don't mention this, that's an order. We'll be up later okay?"

Skye locked eyes with Coulson for a moment before looking down at May in Coulson's arms. Although she wanted to protest, she decided against it and went back up the stairs.

Once Skye was gone, May pulled away from Coulson and told him, "She can't know. Not now, not ever."

Without another word, May stood up a blank expression and red rimmed eyes and left the lab leaving Coulson alone. He sighed, he didn't want to keep this a secret, but knew it wasn't his place to tell Skye the truth. Coulson closed his laptop and decided he would give May a deadline before he would tell Skye the truth. However he wouldn't tell May yet, first she needed to take a breather and process everything that had happened. The best thing right now was to wait and let May sort through this, he knew in the end she would make the right choice. She just needed a little more time.

* * *

 **May knows the truth. Will she tell Skye the truth or will our favorite hacker find out for herself? Here's a few teasers for the next chapter.**

"Whatever was in that tree is Asguardian."

"Where is she?! What happened to her?!"

"Our Agent May."

"That's exactly what we're going to do."


	4. Chapter 3

**Wow 32 favorites and 45 follows, thank you so much for the support. A shoutout to my reviewers, you guys rock. Here is the next chapter and I hope you like it.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.**

* * *

Chapter Three

May had spent the next few hours locked in the cockpit, her absence wasn't noticed by the others since they knew she liked to be alone. Looking out at the sky, May could only think about the young woman downstairs. The one whom they had just picked up off the street, the girl who hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. from her van.

Fate was a strange thing. How was it out of all the people in the world, the one who was fought aboard this plane happened to be the long lost daughter of the pilot? _You have to tell her._ May could still hear Coulson's voice in the back of her mind. She knew he was right and she should tell Skye the truth, but how could she after all that's happened.

 _You've been looking for her and she's been looking for you_. For so many years May had been searching for her daughter and here she was, on the same plane as her. She was so close, but May couldn't bring herself to go over to her and tell her the truth. Soon she would tell Skye everything, but right now she just couldn't do it.

* * *

Everyone, except May, was sitting on the white couch talking and enjoying the company of the others. It was getting late, but none of them cared. Fitz and Simmons were in the middle of one their stories from the academy, a place Coulson remembered fondly. Even though he wasn't apart of their division, he still had some pretty great memories from his time at his academy.

"It was funny because," Simmons paused trying to catch her breath, "it was such a simple chemical reaction that required no knowledge of what you were doing."

"All you had to do was open the carbonated drink and put in the scotch mints in and woosh," Fitz finished making an explosion gesture with his hands.

Skye chuckled, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure every kid has done that once in their life. I remember one time I was at St Agnes, me and this other boy were angry at one of the nuns. He bought the soda while I got the mentos. We set them off in her office, one on her desk, one in front of the door and the rest just anywhere."

"I'd hate to be that woman," Ward commented taking a sip of his iced scotch, "Doing those kind of things only leads to trouble."

"Alright Mr Buzzkill," Skye teased, "Oh come on, you are not seriously telling us you never pulled a prank in your life."

Ward shook his head with a small smile, "Sorry to disappoint, jokester was not my thing."

"What about you sir," Simmons asked looking at Coulson with bright eyes, "Did you ever pull any pranks in your… earlier days?"

Coulson grinned softly, rubbed his ear and turned his comms on so May could hear. He wanted her to hear this. May heard the click in her ear and before she could ask what was going on, she heard his voice.

"In my day, I did pull a few pranks," Coulson smiled, "However, the one who was behind the pranks is someone you wouldn't believe."

"Try us," Skye challenged.

"Come on, out with it" Fitz pressed clearly interested in the topic.

Coulson grinned, he paused for effect then said two words, "Agent May."

There was not a close mouth in front of Coulson, they all stared at the older agent in disbelief.

"Our Agent May," Fitz questioned.

Coulson nodded with a cheeky grin, "Yep, our Agent May. I remember one time at the academy, we pulled a prank on Nick Fury with the help of a younger recruit."

"On the director of S.H.I.E.L.D." Ward said in shock unable to imagine Agent May or Coulson pulling a prank on the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Coulson shook his head, "I don't think he was the director at the time, but he still head a high rank at the time."

"I wonder what Agent May was like when she was younger," Simmons said.

"Yeah," Fitz said, "Was she always as collected and tough like she is now?"

Coulson shook his head, "No, she wasn't always like this," Coulson paused, he knew he was taking a gamble, but he had to say it, "If I had to give an example of what May was like when she was younger, I'd have to say.. She was a bit like Skye."

Coulson knew May was fuming in the cockpit with that one, but he didn't care. He couldn't waste the opportunity in front of him, one that he was certain May would listen to. May was gripping the controls tightly, a part of her wanted to yell at Coulson right then and there, but she reminded herself the comms were still on. She couldn't blow her 'cover.'

"No," Skye shook her head nervously, "I'm nothing like May. She's so…. great, this amazing agent. I'm nothing like her."

"Don't sell yourself short," Coulson commented softly, "May was different and if I had to say, she was a lot like Skye."

"So she was like a rebel then," Simmons questioned fascinated with the idea of May with a rebellious side.

Coulson shrugged, "You could say that. Well I'm turning in, don't be up all night we have work to do tomorrow."

"Get to sift through alien stuff and rocks and who knows what else," Fitz commented.

Coulson grinned, "You bet, see you guys."

The younger members of the team said goodnight to Coulson as he left the command center and headed to his office which was also his room. May turned off her comm, she's so…. great, this amazing agent. I'm nothing like her. May couldn't believe Skye thought she was great, at first she took it as compliment, but hearing it from Skye this time was different. It was one thing for a colleague to say she was great, but another for her daughter to think of her that way. Would Skye still think that after she knew the truth?

* * *

Coulson and his team along with a other agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. had been sifting through more of the rock and debris left from the Asgardians. It was a necessary precaution to make sure nothing alien ended up in the wrong hands because that would mean another most likely global crisis. After going through the rubble, Coulson was received a call about two people in Trillmark National Park, Norway.

It was a man and a woman who cut down a tree and had a weird silver staff. The team packed it up and headed to Norway and began to investigate the remaining pieces of the tree and gather as much information as the patrollers who called could tell. May, Skye and Fitz were still on the BUS while Simmons, Ward and Coulson went to scope out the forest.

"Simmons," Fitz said through the comms, "Whatever was in that tree is Asgardian."

Simmons was getting a closer look at the inside of tree, "I-I can see an imprint of what was embedded," she pulled out a scanner, "Scanning for 3-Dimensional restoration, tell me when."

A moment later, Fitz replied, "When."

He looked over the staff and explained to through the comms while he looked at the model in front of him. "It looks like a staff or a rod, well crafted and engraved."

He signed off and went to make a physical model instead of the holographic one he had before him. Coulson was still trying to gather information from one of the patrollers, he wanted to see if he could figure out anything about them. However so far the patroller wasn't of much use.

"Sir," Skye said through the comms, "It doesn't look like they're hiding."

Skye was in the command center with May by her side, "Sending to your devices now," May said through the comms and continued tapping on the keypad.

Skye and May continued to watch the feed, both wearing worried expression considering where this might lead if not handled.

"Well I guess they know who they think they are," Coulson commented as he looked at the feed with Ward.

May and Skye exchanged worried looks, whoever these people were, clearly thought very highly of themselves. Coulson, Ward and Simmons returned to the BUS shortly after their recent discovery and thanks to Skye and her search of the picture, they found their perps. A man named Jakob and a woman named Petra, a couple in charge of a Norse paganist hate group.

"And their numbers are growing," Skye added, "Thanks to what happened in Greenwich and thanks to the internet. Yay, internet, she said sarcastically."

"Norse Paganist," Simmons questioned.

"Obsessed with anything derived from Norse mythology - stories of Asgard," Skye explained.

"And now a weapon," Ward added lifting the model FitzSimmons had made.

"The scan only accounted for one side," Fitz said.

"Too much damage to the tree for complete reproduction," Simmons added and Fitz finished, "But see here it's clearly broken on both ends."

Ward looked at them, "So there are more pieces?"

"Yeah," Fitzsimmons replied, "Two at least."

"Which means Sid and Nancy may be looking for a complete set," Ward commented, "And the markings?"

"The Asgardian symbolism," Coulson said walking into the lab with May, "Hard to translate with our limited knowledge."

"You should give your buddy the god of thunder a shout," Skye suggested, "He gets his power from his hammer, right? What if this is his nail to the hammer?"

"I already did," Coulson replied, "Director Fury told me he's off the grid. And if he has a cellphone, we don't have the number."

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigations are on the trail of Nystrom and his followers," May said looking at everyone, except Skye.

"We're charged with identifying the object and finding any other pieces before they do," Coulson explained looking at the model.

Ward replied, "They seem to have some advantage," he paused, "They found this thing in 150 square kilometers of Norwegian forest."

"Guys," Skye said an idea coming to mind, "What if it called to them with magic?"

"Called to them," May questioned wondering where Skye was headed.

"We know it's Asgardian, so the rules are a little bendy here," Skye explained her idea.

"Just because we don't understand something yet doesn't mean we should regress back to the dark ages, talking of magic and fairy tales," Simmons replied.

"Actually," Coulson said, "that's exactly what we're going to do."

Fitzsimmons said, "Excuse me?" Skye was shocked, "Really?"

"When we first found the hammer in New Mexico, I consulted one of the world's leading experts on Norse mythology Elliot Randolph, a Professor at a university in Seville," Coulson explained, "We'll leave immediately. Maybe he can tell us more about these markings.

" And with that, May went to the cockpit while everyone went to buckle in. They weren't far from Spain, but it would take a little while giving Skye some time to do some more research while Fitzsimmons did some more work on the 3-D model. The professor for the most part had been helpful, however after the little stunt he pulled in trying to take the other piece of the staff and Grant coming in contact with it.

Things started to spiral. Ever since Ward had touched the staff, he had been angry, anxious and riled up. The team was getting worried, even May was concerned since she found him punching the crap out of a bag. May knew what it was like to have a lot of rage built up, she could relate to how Ward was feeling. Given the recent events she had some rage of her own that was building, but most of it had been sitting within her for years.

* * *

(Some time later)

The professor, Randolph, lead the team to a church where they could find the third part of the staff. However the Norse group beat them to it with their enhanced strength and rage. The leaders Jakob, stabbed the professor in the chest chanting about being a god. Ward grabbed the staff and let the rage build inside him, he let the memory of his brother fill his mind and attacked Jakob. They fell over the railing, or really they fell through the railing and landed on the ground. Skye, May and Coulson looked over and watched them fight for a few moments.

"We need to help him," Skye said before taking off.

"I'll get her," May said and followed Skye while Coulson went to deal with the professor.

Ward was filled fury as he continued to fight Jakob, refusing to back down, hearing the cries of a helpless boy. _Help me! Please help me!_

Grant stared at Jakob angrily, "Grant," Skye said, "Drop the staff."

"Get away from me," Ward snarled.

"Agent Ward," May said appearing at Skye's side.

"This isn't you," Skye said taking a step closer to Ward and May felt her heart stop.

The door opened and a group of the paganist came inside, "Get back," Ward said.

May was already on it, she wrapped her arms around Skye and pulled her away from Ward as he grabbed both ends of the staff. The memory of the well filled his mind, it was the only thing he could think about as he fought the paganist. The cries of his little brother. The threats from his older brother. Most of all he felt the guilt of what he did, of not standing up to him.

Ward had taken out several guys, but he was not unscathed. Despite being physically exhausted, he was also emotionally drained. He was kneeling at the other end of the church tears in his eyes. Skye was by his side a moment after he collapsed on the floor.

"Oh my god," she said, "Are you okay? Come here."

She was about to help him up, when the doors opened and more of the paganist group, including Petra arrived.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Skye said bitterly.

Ward saw her, he moved forward to grab the staff, but May stopped him.

"This time," she said, "Let me help you."

In turn she would also help herself. Ward didn't protest neither did Skye. Skye helped Ward onto his feet and got him away while May bent down and grabbed the staffs. She felt it, she felt the rage and the pain from the memories that haunted her existence.

 _He did this! That man no longer exists!_

May stood up and screamed charging towards the man and woman who arrived. She fought the man off with ease, _he wouldn't do this, he wouldn't do it to me! To us!_ May could hear the voices, she always heard them, but now they sounded louder than ever before. The woman, Petra, put up more of a fight than the man, but May had more anger and more strength. May knocked her off her feet and grabbed the third piece of the staff. Carefully May put the staff together, once she did her worst memories came rushing at her again.

 _Take my hand._

 _Where is she?!_

 _Give me your pain._

 _What happened to her?!_

 _Where is MY daughter?!_

"I am not afraid you," Petra said and charged forward at May full speed.

It was then in a flash May saw it, she saw a man with brown hair and eyes, a baby with nut brown eyes, the girl from Bahrain and she saw Skye. Yelling, May fought off the woman once more and with one hit, she was knocked down and unconscious. Holding the staff, May stood there for a moment trying to push the memories away and stay calm. Carefully she set the staff down, she looked up at Ward and Skye. Ward gave her a slight nod while Skye looked completely shocked and amazed. Shortly after, everything was cleared out and the staff was being put away. Ward and May were sitting on the side, both feeling drained after holding pieces of the staff.

"When you held it," Ward started, "Did it show you anything?"

May nodded, keeping her eyes forward.

"Then how," he asked, "How did you hold all three."

May took a short breath, "Because I see it everyday."

Without another word, May walked away leaving Ward alone to his thoughts. Everyday since she lost her daughter, Skye, she had pictured her baby and coming home to find her gone. Everyday since she was betrayed by someone she cared for, she saw him. Everyday since Bahrain, she saw the little girl she couldn't save. However, seeing Skye towards the end was unnerving for her. She wasn't angry about Skye or at her, it was the anger that she had never found Skye until now. It was the anger of not finding her daughter until she was right across the hall that bothered her. May knew she would get over this soon, but right now she really wanted a drink and a drink she would have.

* * *

 **Penny for your thoughts, *holds virtual penny(s)***

"It's a six hour long ride to the Fridge."

"You were right before."

"Try me,"

"She is so much like you,"

"You're right, so don't make it my place."


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Just a little note, there is no Mayward in my story. Only Philinda and Skyeward and the occasional Fitzsimmons. (Spoiler alert read at your own risk) The moment everyone has been waiting for... won't happen this chapter because I'm evil. BUT next chapter, Skye learns the truth. (Spoiler over).**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.**

* * *

Chapter Four

Right after the encounters with the berserker staff, May and Ward stayed up most of the night drinking and talking. Ward revealed some things from his past while May revealed hardly anything, other than the fact that she knew what pure anger felt like.

The anger she held towards a man she once loved, the anger she felt about losing her daughter, the anger about Bahrain and now the anger about Skye. Although she wasn't angry with Skye, she was angry at how this had come about. She was angry that she found her daughter when she was living across the hall, not even that far away.

Of course May didn't tell Ward any of this, there were some things she would rather keep to herself. The next morning, the team had a new mission involving a particle accelerator and the possibility of a young woman with telekinetic powers.

Fitz-simmons doubted the idea of anyone with that power, Skye thought none existed, but Coulson informed his team there were none on record. Once they had gotten the woman, Hannah, back to the BUS, Coulson knew this situation needed to be handled delicately. It was the reason he wanted May to play a large role in it. He knew he couldn't help her, she had to take that first step in order for Coulson to do the rest.

"Just a mattress sir," Ward question looking at the monitor of Hannah sleeping, "It's a six hour long ride to the Fridge."

"Fitz added magnetic shielding to the cage after Simmons had her scare," Coulson replied, "If Miss Hutchins has this power, that room should keep it from getting out. But in there she'll be just as dangerous."

May walked in a moment later, "How is she," she asked.

Coulson stood up, "The dendrotoxins wearing off. She'll be awake soon, scared, in a strange room. Our next interaction with her is crucial to gaining her trust."

He looked at May, "Which is why I want you there."

"Are you sure that's a good idea," May asked, her voice strained.

Coulson replied, "If Miss Hutchins is going to believe anything we say, she needs to know we're not hiding things from her. Which means you, explaining the situation."

"What if that doesn't calm her down," Ward asked, "What if that makes her more agitated?"

"Then he definitely wants me in there," May answered.

"Pretty much," Coulson replied hold her gaze. Coulson was trying hard to get through to May, but all other attempts were a miss.

He figured Hannah and her situation might be a good opportunity to get through to her. May knew what game Coulson was playing and she didn't like it at all. This was his way of getting through to her and she didn't want him to do that. After all that's happened, she really just wanted to distance herself.

"I'll observe from out here," Ward said.

"I'll lose the tie," Coulson said, "If she is telekinetic, I don't want to have a noose around my neck."

* * *

In all honesty, May didn't want to have to talk to Hannah and gain her trust, but orders were orders. Not to mention, Coulson was right, she would be more useful in the room with him while they spoke to the girl. They walked inside to see Hannah, she was seated upright her back pressed against the wall and knees close to her chest.

"I brought you some water," Coulson said, trying to break the ice. Hannah didn't respond, she just watched as Coulson set the water down near the bed.

"It's okay," Coulson said gently, "I'm Phil, this is Melinda May."

Hannah took a shaky breath, "How did I get here," she asked.

"I sedated you," May replied with a straight face.

Coulson looked at May and back at Hannah, "I apologize for bringing you in that way. Things were escalating, it was for everyone's safety."

Hannah nodded, "Everyone's safety, good, okay… Oh Lord, what have I done?"

Coulson took a step forward, "I promise you Miss Hutchins, nobody was hurt back there."

"Wherever I go," Hannah said, "Things turn bad."

May spoke next, "Were you angry at those people, back at the house?"

Hannah shook her head, "Um, angry no. I know most of them, _they_ were angry. I understand. Oh God. Frank's wife, the way she was looking at me."

"Frank Dallocort," Coulson said, "He died in the accident."

"Because of me they're gone, I killed them," Hannah cried.

May had heard those words before, she had said them years ago after what happened in Bahrain. Although May didn't kill any of them directly, she was the one who let them die. Even to this day she blames herself for the loss of those men, the loss of a child who didn't understand.

Hannah explained what caused the explosion, how for weeks she heard complaints about loose couplings. However, every time she went to check she never found a problem until the explosion. Coulson thinks Hannah may have telekinetic abilities, but Hannah has a different idea of what is going on with her.

"It's not me," Hannah said, "I wish it were because then maybe I could make it stop."

"But if it's not you," May said, "Then what is it?"

Hannah shook her head, "You people wouldn't believe."

May got down on her knees and looked Hannah straight in the eyes, "Try me," was all she said.

Hannah cried and told them how she thought God was punishing her by not protecting her from demons. May and Coulson weren't sure what to make of the situation, but they had seen stranger things so they didn't rule out the possibility of Hannah's theory. Although far fetched, it was something to go off of. May and Coulson called a debrief and within a few minutes, everyone was present at the command centre.

Now they could all discuss what was going on. The only solid thing they had on Hannah was the fact that she was broken and until this mess was resolved, she was a threat.

Fitz-Simmons returned to the lab with Ward to go over some more possible theories about how she gained telekinetic powers. In the mean time, Skye went after Coulson and May wanting to go talk to Hannah.

"Just let me go in and talk to her, sir, as a friend," Skye pleaded.

Coulson replied, "I can't let you do that, it's too dangerous."

"She's not dangerous, she's nice, like overly nice," Skye pulled out her tablet, "She never misses a birthday post to her friends, runs the youth program at her church, rescues dogs. Hannah's a safety inspector and not because she's detail oriented-"

"Because she genuinely cares," Coulson finished.

He used to know someone who was exactly like Hannah or who was similar to her. This situation was close to one he had face years ago with the other woman in the room standing beside his desk.

"Right," Skye said, "And someone with that much empathy being responsible for that much loss of life, she's devastated. Spouting nonsense about God punishing her for-"

"People believe what they need to believe in order to justify their actions," May interjected.

Coulson bit back the smile, considering the irony of what May said was enough to make him laugh. Of course he didn't, but in his head he was laughing.

"Is that how you justify your shoot first policy," Skye retorted causing May to roll her eyes, "At least let me try to repair _that_ damage."

"Until we figure out what's going on with her," May said ignoring Skye's comment, "She stays locked up and you stay away."

Coulson was about to say something when one of his collectibles fell off the shelf, he thought it was glued down, but apparently it wasn't. He picked it up and turned to Skye and when he looked at her, he saw a younger version of May. That was not something he had expected to see so soon, but here it was. A glimpse of May in the past.

"You're asking the right questions Skye," Coulson said, "But right now, that's all you get to do. I'm sorry."

Skye sighed, she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere so she decided to leave. Coulson waited a few moments until he was sure Skye was gone before looking at May with a knowing smile. May shook her head, she knew what he was thinking.

"I can't believe I didn't see it before. She is so much like you," Coulson said with an amused grin, "You cannot deny it."

May scoffed, "We are not discussing that issue now."

Coulson shrugged, "I don't know May, maybe it is a good time to talk about this," he paused, "May, you need to tell Skye the truth. Stop waiting, you can't keep avoiding this. It would be better if she heard it from you rather than from me. I'm going to give you time to tell her May, but if you won't… I will."

"It isn't your place," May hissed at Coulson, glaring.

Coulson shook his head, "You're right, so don't make it my place."

May exhaled sharply before leaving Coulson alone to fix his collectible. Coulson didn't want to force May into telling Skye the truth, but he had to do this. He knew May would tell Skye eventually if he 'threatened' her, after all May would rather she be the one to tell than Skye having to find out from anyone else.

* * *

 **Later**

All of sudden, the plane lost power. May, Ward and Skye were upstairs while Simmons and Coulson were in the lab when the lights went out and the emergency ones came on. May, Ward and Skye went straight to the cockpit. Skye strapped in while May and Ward did what they could to help the plane land without causing too much damage to the plane and the area around it.

After the landing, everyone met back up near the command centre where Simmons tells them she's seen a ghost. Had those words come from anyone else, the other's wouldn't have believed it. However since it came from one of the scientist on board, they knew something strange was going on and needed to be careful.

Skye asks if she can go down and tell Hannah that they were wrong and it really was ghost. May doesn't want her to go because this ghost is targeting Hannah, however she doesn't say anything and Coulson sends her down.

May decides to follow her and scope out the halls to see if she can't find this ghost. In the meantime, Coulson tries to call for help while Ward goes looking for Fitz. Walking through the halls makes May vaguely think back to when she walked through the halls of Bahrain. Where she had been looking for her men and the enemy troops, not knowing if they would jump out at her.

"I had a few nuns around me growing up and they would talk like that," May heard Skye say, "scaring kids with the stories of God's wrath. It made me not want to believe. The only words that stuck with me were something that Sister McKenna said. It was from the Bible I think and it said, "God is love."

Skye paused, "It's simple and it's a little sappy, but that's the version I like… God is love. The thing that holds us together and if that's true, I don't think He would punish you for making a mistake. I think He'd forgive a mistake."

 _Love, it's the thing that holds us all together. It's what holds us together._

May drew a sharp quiet breath as those words echoed through her mind. She had had enough visits down memory lane.

"I want to believe that," Hannah said, "I do."

Before Skye could talk again, May walked up and told her that Coulson need her. Skye didn't want to leave, but knew she couldn't argue with May and decided to go. Ward, Fitz and Simmons were dealing with the wires that the ghost had damaged earlier when he appeared again. Ward tried to fight him off, but he kept disappearing and reappearing making it hard for him to get a good hit.

Unfortunately, Ward was knocked unconscious while the ghost, who they identified as Tobias, locked them in a closet. However Fitz had noticed he was dematerializing, it was good sign because now his powers were getting weaker. Once Skye had made it upstairs, Coulson pointed out the problem to Skye and asked her to fix it.

"It seems like a hardware issue, not a firmware," Skye said, "I should be with Hannah anyway, no wonder she keeps screaming, you keep sending the Cavalry you're bound to get a reaction like that-"

"Don't- don't call her that," Coulson said shaking his head.

"Why not," Skye asked, "No normal person can shoot, 100 Bahrain," Skye started, but was cut off.

"That's not how it went down," he said.

"Whatever twenty," Skye said, "I just- I don't understand-"

"She didn't have a gun," Coulson said and that made Skye be quiet, "None of us did."

Coulson drew a breath as Skye looked at him, "And it wasn't rescue or an assault, whatever they say at the academy these days.. we were the welcome wagon and it went south."

Skye was shocked, she hadn't expected that, "How many-" she started.

"Plenty," Coulson said, "A civilian girl and a few of our guys were stuck inside the building being held by the followers of this gifted individual or worshippers. We never found out."

Skye looked down, "May did."

"She took it upon herself to get them out," Coulson said, "Said she could fix the problem. So she went in, crossed of the enemy force, didn't say how."

"Did she lose anyone in there," Skye asked softly.

Coulson held Skye's gaze, "Herself," he said, "May used to be different, she was always quiet, she just… she was warm. Fearless in a different way, getting in trouble, pulling pranks, thought rules were meant to be broken."

Skye looked away, "Sound familiar," Coulson asked, "She was like you, in a lot of ways."

He knew there was a way to find the old May he once knew and it was through Skye. Coulson understood he wasn't enough to help May recover, after all that had happened he knew she would never fully recover.

However he wanted, no he needed to help her, but he wasn't enough. Skye on the other hand could figure people out. He hoped with her help, he could finally help May heal from all the events that brought her down.

Coulson sighed, "But when she walked out of that building, it was like that part of her was gone. I tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't tell me what went down in there."

"What did you say," Skye asked.

"The words I thought she needed to hear," Coulson replied.

"It's why you want her on the plane," Skye realized, "To see if that person is still in there somewhere."

"yeah." Coulson replied and then the door slammed locking Coulson and Skye inside. He appeared and demanded they let Hannah out or let him in, but Coulson couldn't do that. May could fix this, she just needed to know what was going on.

* * *

May did it. Once she made contact with Fitz-Simmons, she knew what she had to do and that was draw him out away from her team. He had tried to attack her on the plane, but she got away with ease and snuck Hannah off. Tobias appeared later and fought May trying to get to Hannah, but Hannah was able to stop him and calm him down.

As May stood before the kneeling ghost, she told him the same thing Coulson had told her all those years ago. She was finally starting to understand. May walked away from Hannah after Tobias disappeared.

Coulson stood there and asked, "What did you say to him?"

May took a breath, "Same words you said to me in Bahrain."

 _Let the girl go- let her go._

"I'm going to tell her," May said low enough so only he could hear, "You were right before."

 _I will never ever let her go._

May bit her lip before she continued, "I never let go, because I needed to hold on."

Coulson gave her a soft smile, "Then hold on."

Without another word, May walked away and headed back towards the BUS. May was getting ready for take off when the door to the cockpit opened and closed.

"Mind if I keep you company," Skye asked.

May didn't respond, she didn't need to. Anyone who wanted to sit in could, if May responded it usually meant she wanted you out, but if she was quiet. Well it was kind of like a silent invitation.

"Cool," Skye smiled and took a seat in the passenger side.

They sat in silence, but Skye didn't mind. She had a new appreciation for May and May was just happy. She thought about what Coulson said before, she needed to stop avoiding this and face it head on.

"Skye," May said willing herself to tell Skye the truth.

Skye looked at the older agent with soft browns and a gentle smile. May wanted to tell her, she wanted to say the things left un spoken, but the words were lost.

"Thank you," was all May said before returning her focus to flying the plane.

She would tell Skye the truth and soon, but after all that had just happened. May thought it was best to wait. So she would enjoy the silence and the company.

* * *

 **Hey guys, so a good friend of mine by the name of uiop12092 has written a story called SHIELD Archives. If you get the chance go check it out, it's a story unlike any other. Okay see you guys tomorrow for the next chapter!**

 **Teaser**

"What is it now?"

"We found your mother."

"No reason in particular."

"Please don't."

"You said used to."


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you guys so much for all the follows, favorties and reviews! You guys are amazing. So this chapter is very Skye and May heavy, will the truth come out? Read and see for yourself.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

22 hours had passed since the incident with Hannah. May had been doing fine since then, but she was still shaken from the Berserker and visits to the past. She told Coulson she was going to tell Skye the truth, but she wasn't sure when or even how. Right now she was drinking some hot tea at one in the morning planning on what to say and how to say it. If her plan worked, she would tell Skye tomorrow when they were alone. However she knew even the best laid plans could go wrong. May sighed and continued to sip her tea.

Skye was lying awake in her bunk staring out the window looking at the night sky absently. Over the past couple of days she had been haunted by nightmares from her childhood and she couldn't explain why. There was one about her old foster parents, another about the time she was arrested in high school. Most of them were just her old memories, but it still made her jolt awake.

Skye hadn't asked about her parents since the Hub and she _really_ wanted to ask. She wanted to know if Coulson or May had found anything. Not to long ago, Coulson mentioned to Skye that May had joined their vendetta saying she was good at finding this sort of thing. At first she was a little apprehensive about it, but Skye decided to let go. Since then she hasn't asked, she knew they would tell her once they found something. All she had to do was wait for them to come to her.

A sigh escaped her lips, she sat up and decided she would make herself a midnight snack or drink. Maybe something in the cabinet would help her go back to sleep. Skye left her bunk and walked to the kitchen and was kind of surprised to see May there sitting at the counter.

"Couldn't sleep," Skye said and to her surprise again, May jumped.

It was barely noticeable, but Skye saw it. May looked over her shoulder to see Skye, her long hair in a ponytail and wearing a black tank top with grey pajama pants.

"No not really," May admitted, "I don't have to pilot and I couldn't sleep, so I just made tea."

Skye smiled, she took a seat beside May and said, "The only tea I've ever had, besides sweet tea at restaurants, was one of those weird lemon ones with the syrup." Skye shook her head, "Have to say I'm not a fan."

May smiled slightly, "That's because you've never had any good tea."

Skye sighed, "Maybe... I've been meaning to ask. You don't have to tell me what happened in the lab with Coulson and then the berserker staff... It's a lot to deal with, but I want you to know if you ever want to talk, I'm a pretty good listener."

"I highly doubt ignoring orders and protocol the qualities of a good listener," May said taking a sip of her tea.

Skye looked at May with mocked hurt May never teased anyone, ever. Disbelief washed over Skye's face as she watched May, studied her even.

"What," May questioned eyeing Skye curiously.

"Did you just tease me," Skye asked with a smile of her own.

May rolled her eyes, "No, I just stated a fact."

Skye just stared, "No I'm pretty sure you just made fun of me. " Skye looked at May and said in a very serious tone, "Who are you and what have you done with Agent May?"

Before May could stop it, she chuckled. Now Skye was really confused and worried because one, May never used sarcasm to tease her and two she chuckled. She never chuckled, giggled or laughed. A hint of a smile maybe, but even that was rare.

"Very funny," May replied sarcastically much to Skye's amusement.

May was trying to warm up to Skye first before telling her everything. She thought if they were a little closer, maybe Skye would take the blow easier. The older agent stood up and started to make herself another cup of tea.

"You want one," May asked, she turned around to see Skye studying her again, "What is it now?"

"You sure you're alright," Skye asked, "Something must have happened because you are never this... relaxed.. I mean sure you're calm, but in a different way. Also you're not this nice to me, I mean you aren't mean to me just-"

"Cold," May suggested and Skye shook her head with wide eyes.

"I wasn't going to say that," Skye replied.

May wasn't bothered, she knew how most people saw her, "It's alright, I know I'm cold."

Skye frowned at that, "I don't think you're cold," Skye said and fiddled with her hands, "I'd say serious. You have a more distant and all business kind of thing going on."

May wouldn't argue that, she definitely had a distant air about her that put others off. This was too surreal for May, she couldn't believe she was making tea for her daughter at 1:00 on the morning. If Skye knew the truth, this would be their first mother/ daughter bonding. Second really if May counted the time when Skye came to sit with her after the incident with Hannah.

"Why are you up this late," May asked, changing the subject as she poured the cups of tea.

Skye sighed, "Had some weird dreams, couldn't go back to sleep so I came here where the food was."

May grinned, "Of course you did," she said and handed Skye her own tea.

May thought about telling Skye the truth now, but she had no idea what to say. She didn't want to mess this up. Besides it was late and the news would probably keep her up thinking. Skye took the tea happily and carefully inspected the tea with curious eyes. However she took a sip and the smile on her face was enough to make May happy.

"Okay that's actually pretty good," Skye said taking another sip of the warm tea.

May nodded, "I told you, you just needed the right kind of tea."

Skye chuckled, "Yeah, I suppose so."

She would tell her the truth, she would tell her everything she wanted to know. However May was terrified, she was terrified to tell Skye she was her mother. How would she react? Would she be angry? Would she be upset that May was her mother?

"May," Skye said softly, "Can I ask you something?"

May nodded, she set her mug down, "What's on your mind?"

Skye grinned, "When's your birthday?"

"Why do you want to know," May asked setting her cup on the counter.

Skye shrugged, "No reason in particular."

May raised one eyebrow and Skye continued, "Okay, I have everyone's birthday except yours and I need to know."

"Not telling," May replied with a smirk.

Skye rolled her eyes, "Okay fine, but once my internet nanny is gone, I'll find it."

May snickered, "My birthday isn't in my file. Why do you have all our birthdays?"

"To celebrate of course," Skye replied like it was obvious, "Birthday's were something I always liked, it was a day just for you. I don't know my real birthday so I made one up. Anyway I like knowing when other people's birthdays are, this way I can do something nice for."

 _July 2nd._

It was one of the greatest days of May's life. May was certain her heart was going to burst with how fast it was beating. Maybe she could tell Skye everything. But she was still so afraid of the repercussions it might cause.

"You asked me about the lab incident before. I wasn't upset," May said looking at her tea, "I was more surprised, afraid and frozen."

Skye leaned forward, "What happened?"

May brought her gaze to look at Skye wasn't sure if she could do this, but she had to. She knew that she could wait and tell Skye later, but... The truth would come out eventually, it was better the truth came out sooner instead of later.

"Something I had buried deep down," May replied, she took a breath and continued, "I never told you, any of you this, but I used to have a daughter, her birthday was- is July second."

Skye's mouth fell open, she couldn't believe Agent May had a daughter, but May never mentioned her. Skye wanted to assume because she didn't want the others to know she had family and for protection. However the way May said _used to_ made Skye think otherwise.

"You said used to," Skye started cautiously, "Did something happen to her?"

May nodded, she looked at Skye with sad eyes, "I lost her. I wasn't there when she needed me the most and… that was it. She was gone, forever."

"Oh May," Skye said sadly, "I'm so sorry, I can't imagine what that must have been like."

May offered Skye a soft smile, "That's one of the reasons why I agreed to help Coulson do research on you. I thought maybe, if I helped you find your parents or the truth.. I don't know, I'd feel better or something." May paused for a moment, looking down at her tea she said, "After I lost her, I knew I could never forgive myself, I still don't."

"I'm sure you did all you could," Skye offered softly.

May shook her head, "I could have done more, searched more, tried harder. What I did.. it just wasn't enough." May took a deep breath before she continued, "Skye, Coulson and I looked further into finding your parents and what happened to them and you. We haven't found much about the document, but….. Think back for a moment. Remember when Coulson took a sample of your blood?"

Skye nodded and May continued, "We didn't need it for medical records. Coulson put it through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agent Archive, it holds everything and anything about an agent there, including blood samples. He scanned your blood, put it through the system to look for your parents. If they were agents, we would find them and everything about them."

Skye swallowed hard, there was chance she could find her parents. Had they found them? Was her search coming to an end?

"Did you," she asked gently, "Did you find them?"

May nodded slowly, "We found your mother."

 _Mother._

Skye's breath caught in her throat at May's words. Could it be possible she finally knew the truth? Could find out where she came from and what really happened to her?

"Is she alive," Skye asked nervously, "Do we know her? Was she the one who left me? Where is she now? Can we talk to her?" Skye paused, "Sorry, I just- I've been looking for so long and..."

May nodded again, "Your mother is alive and you do know her."

"Who is she," Skye asked, her heart beating faster with every second that passed.

"I think it'd be better if I show you," May said swallowing her fear, "This way you can see the results, have access to her file and everything else."

Skye smiled brightly and nodded, her excitement and anxiety rising with every breath she took. This was happening and Skye couldn't believe it. She was about to see who her mother was, learn about her and find her wherever she might be. May and Skye walked down to the lab, May turned on all the lights and pulled out the file of the blood results. It was a manila folder labeled Skye and it felt heavy in May's hand. She looked at Skye and held the folder as steadily as she could.

"Before you open this," May said, "Once you know, there is no going back. This is the truth."

Skye nodded seriously, "I want to know, I'm ready to know."

May nodded, she handed Skye the folder and watched with anticipation. At first Skye only stared at the folder before taking a deep breath and opening it to see all the results and a few other papers. As soon as Skye read the results, her eyes widened and her mouth opened and she forgot how to breathe. According to this paper, her mother was standing only three feet away from her.

"You have every right to be angry," May said waiting for Skye to react, "I just want- no I need you to know that, I did want you and I never stopped looking for you."

Skye tore her eyes away from the paper and stared at May, "You- you... you're my mom," Skye said still in shock.

May only nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Skye wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't believe that her mother was standing only a few feet away from her. She couldn't believe the woman before her, the one tough as nails and strong was also the woman who gave birth to her. A million questions raced through Skye's mind and she wasn't sure whether she should yell or cry.

Skye took a shaky breath, "Well you were right," she said sheepishly, "Your birthday isn't in here... How long did you know?"

"Since you found Coulson and I in the lab," May answered hesitantly.

"Is that why you were so upset," Skye asked, her voice shaking slightly.

May shook her head, "I was a lot of things, but upset wasn't one of them."

Skye wasn't sure what to do. She was still trying to process the fact that her mother was in front of her. The woman she had been looking for, for so many years was there. Standing only a few feet away.

"You said a moment ago you wanted me," Skye said, her voice stronger and more confident, "If that were true, why did you leave me? Why did you leave me on a doorstep with nothing? Was I really such a _risk_?"

May had told Coulson bringing Skye onto this plane would be a risk. Now Skye was using her own words from months ago back at her.

"A baby is always a risk, but you were one I was willing to take," May replied calmly, "I didn't leave you at that orphanage, I lost you before the date marked on that redacted document."

"You lost me," Skye asked with her eyebrows raised, "How? What happened to me?"

May didn't want to relive those memories, but knew she had to tell her daughter the truth, "I was on a mission with Coulson and a few others, when I had a bad feeling. I had left with you some agents I trusted to look after you since this mission was going to take some time. It was the first mission I had been further away than normal and I just had a feeling."

May took a deep breath, "Coulson and the others said it was just anxiety, first time being away from you for more than a few days since you were born, but I knew this was different. So I left with Coulson and we sped back to you. When we got there, the door was gone the windows were smashed and I panicked. I ran inside as fast as I could."

Skye watched May closely, May continued with tears in her eyes, "All the agents were dead, the furniture was destroyed and thrown all over the place. The doors and walls and windows all smashed to pieces except your room. Your room was the only place in the house left untouched. I walked in and you weren't there, you were gone and in your place was a note. Not for ransom, it just said, 'come find us.' I never stopped looking for you, whenever I had the chance I would search for a sign, a clue, anything. Losing you, was the worst day of my life."

Skye didn't know what to say, she could tell May meant every word she said, but she was still confused. Skye still had questions, but decided not to ask anymore. They would have more time to talk, but it was late and both of them were exhausted and this was not going to help either of them.

Skye bit her bottom lip, "You did want me once," Skye stated, but it sounded like a question in May's ears, "Do you still want me?"

May looked into Skye's eyes and answered, "Yes, I've always wanted you."

Skye felt tears filling in her eyes, no one had ever wanted her before. No one had ever said they wanted her, hearing May say those words made something in her break. The little girl inside her who longed to find her parents, who longed to find a family and home was full of joy. However the adult standing in her place was just lost and felt so many different emotions through her. Tears fell down Skye's cheeks, but she wiped them away.

"No one's ever said that to me before," Skye whispered, but May heard her loud and clear, "No one's ever wanted me."

"I want you," May said gently, "And if you'd like, I want to have a second chance."

Skye gave her watery smile as the tears fell down her cheeks, her mother wanted her, wanted a chance with her.

Skye nodded, "Yeah, I'd really like that..." Skye drew a breath, "I never thought I would find you."

May's felt her break when she saw Skye crying and she did something Skye didn't expect. May hugged her. She wrapped her arms around Skye's slightly smaller frame. For a moment Skye was stiff, but after a second she wrapped her arms around May's waist and cried into her shoulder.

After so many years of searching and not having any answers, she found her mother. She _had_ a mother. May had waited so long to hold her daughter again. In all honesty she thought she would never get this chance again. It made her so happy to have her daughter back, to have another chance.

May whispered, "I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner... I promise I will never let you go."

Skye held May tighter and said hoarsely, "Please don't."

May closed her eyes, she renewed her vow and this time she would keep it.

* * *

 **Penny for your thoughts.**

 **Teaser**

"She's so amazing."

"A lazy day it is,"

"How did she take it?"

"You look beautiful."

"What's all this?"


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you for everything! Follows, favorites and reviews galore, you guys are the best and make me happy. Now it's time for some Skye and May bonding!**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

Skye woke up the next morning slowly with the sun rising and the light filling her bunk. The events of last replayed through her mind, May was her mother. That was insane. Last night Skye and May had talked about keeping this a secret, for now it was something only the two of them and Coulson would know. After that they headed back upstairs and went to their respective bunks and agreed to meet later.

Since Skye and May wanted to get to know each other better, they decided to pick different places and times where they could meet. May said she does Tai Chi every morning before the others wake up and Skye thought it was perfect. This way if anyone ever questions why she joined May in the early hours, or if they got caught, May could say it was part of her training. Skye was already working with Ward, why not add another experienced agent to help her out.

After all Skye was planning to be a field agent, well she wanted to be one and would need all the help she could get considering she still had her bracelet. Skye tried to convince May to take it off, but May told her it was out of her hands. It was decided they would meet in the morning and during Tai Chi, they could talk and let loose. However during the day, they would act as if nothing had changed and things were normal. Skye left her bunk to see Fitz and Simmons in the kitchen.

"Morning Skye," Simmons said with a smile, "Fitz and I were just about to make breakfast. Do you want us to fix you something?"

Skye shook her head, "No that's okay, thanks for the offer though."

Fitz shrugged as he poured himself some cereal, "Suit yourself."

"So no missions today," Skye asked as she took a seat at the counter.

Simmons shook her head, "It appears we won't have any missions until either Coulson decides we've had too long of a break or something pops up."

Skye could live with that, besides she would enjoy the free time to get to know her mother and her team.

"A lazy day it is," Skye said with a smile.

May was sitting in the cockpit with a smile that refused to leave her face. She had told Skye the truth and she had handled it much better than May thought she would. Skye said she wanted to try and have a relationship, but she wanted to go slow. May agreed that would be best. Skye also gave May a new name or nickname really. Since she called Coulson A.C. Skye decided she would call May M. The others would think she meant May, but only her and May would know M stood for mom.

Even though it was a small change, it made May's heart soar with excitement. She was given a second chance to know her daughter, she might have missed her beginnings, but at least she would see her until the end. Tonight, Skye was going to join May in the cockpit and they were just going to talk and break the ice. May wanted to show Skye the scrapbook she had of Skye's first year, but didn't know if she should wait until they knew each other more to show it to her. Coulson walked into the cockpit and took a seat in the passenger side.

"It's a lovely view," he commented with a soft smile.

May grinned slightly, "I told her."

Coulson looked over at May and asked nervously, "How did she take it?"

May glanced at Coulson with a smile, "Better than I thought she would. She was shocked at first, but she was okay with it. We decided to keep it secret for now, but eventually we'll tell the team. Just not now."

Coulson nodded, "I can understand that," he said, "I'm happy for you May."

May breathed a laugh, she couldn't believe after all these years she had found her daughter. Last night, May told Skye she would answer any questions she might have, but May was nervous about the questions Skye might ask. Ever since she woke up this morning, May had thought about all the questions she might ask that were more personal and had answers for them.

However there were a handful of questions May wasn't prepared for, they all shared the same topic. Her father. That topic was not something May wanted to discuss anytime soon, but if Skye asked she would answer.

"Thank you Coulson," May said, "If you hadn't thought of that blood test, I probably never would have found her."

Coulson smiled gently, "You would have found out eventually, but nonetheless you're welcome. I'll leave you to your solitude."

May smirked, but didn't say anything in reply, instead she watched the skies.

* * *

 **(That Night)**

Skye had been anxious to go see May all day, she wanted to show her some things from her past and she was nervous about it. It wasn't that much stuff, but it was all Skye had. It was only nine in the evening, but Fitz-Simmons were asleep already while Ward was down in the cargo hold working out. Skye had only seen Coulson once earlier today, he told her that her secret with May was safe with him which she was grateful for.

For part of the day, Skye had assembled a small box with her most treasured items and a few pictures that she wanted to share with May. Holding the small box Skye walked away from her bunk and quickly made her way to the cockpit.

Once she was outside the door, she knocked with her elbow and whisper yelled, "M, M you in there?"

May shook her head once she heard Skye, smiling she called back, "Yes, I'm in here."

Skye bit her lip, "Can you get the door? I would, but my hands are tied."

May made a face before standing from her pilots seat to open the door. She looked to see Skye in her pajamas holding a white box filled with an assortment of items.

May asked looking at the box, "What's all this?"

Skye smiled nervously, "I thought maybe you might want to see some things from my past and ask some questions of your own…"

"I would like that," May grinned and closed the door once Skye was inside the cockpit.

Skye took her seat in the passenger side and set the box at her feet as she looked around the cockpit. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about talking to her mom about her past. However she knew this would go smoothly, for the most part anyway. May took her seat and made sure the plane was still on autopilot before she faced Skye.

"Do you want me to go first or do you want to go first," Skye asked nervously, biting her bottom lip.

May replied, "You go first, this is about you."

"Us," Skye corrected with a cheeky grin. "You already told me my real birthday, so I can't ask that...What was my real name," Skye asked.

May grinned slightly, "Daisy, Daisy Miao May-Johnson."

Skye chuckled, "That's a mouthful, where did you come up with that?"

May smiled at Skye gently, "Well, I got Daisy from your father. Those were his favorite flowers and he used to send them to me, so it seemed appropriate. Miao in Chinese means, excellent, wonderful, clever and subtle. You've held up to that name minus subtle. As for the May-Johnson, your dad's last name was Johnson and I just added the May so we shared a surname."

"Johnson was my dad's last name," Skye asked and May nodded. "Can I ask about him, about the two of you?"

May took a short breath, "What would you like to know?"

Skye could tell May was nervous about this topic, she said, "You don't have to tell me if it's too personal."

May shook her head, "Skye, he was- he is your father and you deserve to know about him. If you want to know about him, all you have to do is ask."

"Another time," Skye said with a small smile, "Tonight it's just us. I'll ask a question, then you ask one. I used my first one, so it's your turn."

May smirked, "What's in the box?"

Skye grinned cheekily, "In this white box, reveals the secrets of the universe, also known as my life."

May chuckled, Skye lifted the box onto her lap and pulled the first thing she saw, a picture of her on the first day of school ever. Skye handed the picture to May and she took carefully. It was a small picture, about 2X4, it was a little wrinkled and faded, but May thought it was perfect. The image was of a five year old Skye, her brown hair was pigtails that draped over shoulders. She wore a white polo and navy blue skirt.

"That was my first day of school ever," Skye explained, "I think I was four, maybe five in that picture."

May smiled staring at the picture, "You are so cute," she whispered.

Skye chuckled, she reached into the box and pulled some other pictures for May to see. May handled each of them with care, she stared at them with a smile that Skye had never seen on May before. As May looked at each picture, Skye would explain where she was, what she was thinking and why the picture was taken.

"This one has to be my favorite," May said holding a small one of Skye when she was nine.

The little girl was wearing a white dress with inch wide straps. She was standing on a rock in front of the ocean with a big smile on her face and bright eyes.

Skye looked at the picture and smiled, "Yeah I liked this one. I had been staying with this foster family, the Brody's. They were pretty good to me and one day we went to the beach after a banquet."

"You look beautiful," May said with a gentle smile.

"Thanks," Skye replied, "Okay your turn, show me something."

May took a breath, "Alright, well I do have something I could show you. It's a scrapbook of your first year. I never go anywhere without it."

Skye had only seen one picture of herself as a baby. The idea of a whole scrapbook, or part of a scrapbook dedicated to her first year made her smile widen. May stood up and went to a secret drawer in the closet and pull out a yellow book about two inches thick.

"I never finished it," May said as she took her seat, "I stopped after around fifteen or twenty pages."

Skye grinned with an idea in mind, "Well now you can add my pictures to the rest of it along with the pictures we'll take in the future."

"I'd like that," May replied.

The first picture was of May in a hospital gown lying in bed with a sleeping baby in her arms and a smile on her face. May was looking at the camera, her hair was wet and she looked exhausted, but her smile was still bright. The next picture was of Coulson, he was smiling at the camera holding a small baby in his arms.

"Coulson was there," Skye said looking at the picture closely.

May nodded, "Yep, he and two other agents were the only ones who knew I was pregnant."

"You wanted to keep it a secret," Skye asked.

"Yes, I did," May admitted, "When I first found out I was pregnant I was so excited, but... I knew absolutely nothing about taking care of a child. Coulson said I could learn, but I didn't listen, I was so afraid that I would make a mistake or something bad would happen to you given my line of work… I decided I was going to give you away."

Skye looked at May and said confused, "You said you didn't leave me at the orphanage."

"I didn't, I had a plan," May explained, "A nice couple who couldn't have a child was going to adopt you, but after you were born I changed my mind. The moment I held you, I made a promise to you that I would never let you go."

Skye looked back to the pictures, on the second page was of Skye in May's arms, with Coulson on her right (left in the picture) and another man on the left (right in the picture.)

"Who's that," Skye asked pointing to the unidentified man with an eyepatch.

May grinned, "That is Director Nick Fury."

Skye had heard the name before and was speechless, "Wait you mean the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. was there the day I was born?"

May nodded, "That is exactly what I'm saying. Fury, Phil and I were pretty close back then. Still are."

"Cool," Skye says with a smile.

Skye flipped the page over and sees a nursery, the walls are light blue with white clouds painted in various places. There was a white crib in the center of the room, a mobile hanging over the crib with stars dangling from it. It was hard to see, but Skye could make out three letters, one each on a different star. Y, D and A.

"Daisy," Skye guessed looking at May.

"Yep," May replied, "It was Coulson's idea to have your room represent the sky, day and night. At night the stars would glow and in the day they would just hang."

"Funny how I chose the name Skye later on," Skye chuckled looking at the picture.

"Can I ask why you chose the name Skye," May asked looking away from the picture and at Skye.

"Well," Skye started, "The name they gave me at the orphanage was Mary Sue Poots so… I couldn't stand that name. I always liked the stars, the moon and the clouds. The one thing they all had in common was the sky. I just added an 'e' and ta da, I got a new name."

Skye paused, "Daisy Miao Skye May-Johnson, has a nice ring to it."

May nodded, "Can't argue with you there."

The next few hours went on the same, Skye and May would ask each other questions and just talk. May continued to show Skye the scrapbook and shared the story behind each photo. Skye would do the same and ask as many questions as she could. It was great, Skye had learned so many things about May, more than her files would ever reveal. May had learned a lot about Skye as well, but there was still so much she didn't know.

"You should get some sleep," May told her after she looked at the time.

Skye shook her head as she settled further into the passenger seat, "I'm good, keep going."

May had been telling Skye a story from the academy about her and Coulson. Skye really wanted to know how it ended, but sleep was so tempting. It was almost 12:30 in the morning and although Skye had stayed up much later than that on occasion, she was exhausted.

"Go to bed," May instructed playfully.

"No," Skye retorted with a smile, "Keep telling me the story, then I'll leave."

May only shook her head and said, "Tomorrow, you'll fall asleep on me."

Skye sighed, "Well then it's a bedtime story, proceed. I'm not going anywhere until I know how this prank ends."

May laughed, but caved into Skye's request. She continued to tell the story of how she and Coulson and another agent she didn't name had played a trick on Nick Fury. It involved water balloons and a lot of paint. As the story came to a close, May looked over to see Skye sleeping peacefully in the seat beside her. Smiling May stood up and grabbed a blanket from the closet. She threw the covers over Skye and returned to her seat when Coulson came in.

"Hey," he said softly.

May shushed him and pointed to Skye who was asleep. Coulson gave her an apologetic smile, "Sorry," he whispered, "I noticed she wasn't in her bunk or a car so I came up here. I take it things are going well?"

May nodded and whispered, "Really well actually. Having this chance to know her is amazing. She's so amazing."

Coulson grinned, "Just like her mother," Coulson said, "I'll leave you two."

May watched him go before looking back at her sleeping daughter with a smile. This was her second chance and sure as hell wasn't going to waste it.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"Don't be daft Simmons."

"You know what we should do?"

"What did I tell you?"

"No absolutely not."

"She's already making a difference with you."


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: I love you all! This is just a filler chapter with some fun it and I had a good time writing it. Hope you enjoy the team doing Just Dance.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

The next morning, Skye woke up in her bunk and had a brief panic attack. How did she get here? Skye didn't remember going back to her bunk after talking with May last night. She knew she fell asleep around eleven or twelve, but she never left the cockpit.

Skye checked the time, it was 6:45. Although she was still tired, she remembered May got up around this time to do Tai Chi. Quickly Skye tied her hair into a pony tail and changed into some work out clothes. She left her bunk and headed to the cargo hold where she saw May doing her thing.

"Hey," Skye called at the top of the stairs, getting May's attention.

"Hey," May said, "I wasn't expecting you this morning, I was going to let you sleep since we were up late yesterday."

Skye shrugged as she descended the stairs, "What can I say, I'm looking forward to this very slow moving art."

May scoffed, "I'm sure you are, come on we'll start with something easy." Once Skye was facing May on the mat, May started, "Okay start with your feet parallel like this and your knees slightly bent…"

May went into explaining the move and giving a demonstration and after a few attempts Skye was able to do it along with her. For the next forty minutes, Skye and May did Tai Chi. It was mostly quiet, but neither of them seemed to mind. In all honesty it was nice to just be in the other's company, they didn't need conversation, being there was enough.

* * *

"You know what we should do," Skye said the next day.

The plane had landed two hours ago for refueling, May thought it would be a good idea to take a break from flying and gather some more supplies. Skye, Fitz-Simmons and Ward were outside the command center sitting on the couches. May and Coulson had returned with food, drinks and some entertainment items via request from the younger agents.

"What," Simmons asked sitting across from Skye who was laying on the floor.

Ward and Fitz were on the long couch the flatscreen behind them while Simmons was in one of the chairs.

"We should play a game," Skye said, "And not like one of Ward's board games, but one we can use on that flat screen."

"Do we have any video games," Simmons asked.

Ward and Fitz stared at her in mock offense. "Of course we do," Fitz said, "We have plenty, but you've never been around to play them."

Simmons rolled her eyes, "Fitz... What are our options?"

Skye sat up with a cheeky grin on her face, "I asked Coulson to get a new game with the Wii, Just Dance 2."

"No," Ward said.

"Yes," "Sounds lovely," Fitz-Simmons said with smiles.

"A.C." Skye yelled with a smile, "We need the new game you bought!"

After a few minutes Coulson walked down game in hand, "You know you could have come up and gotten it," he said.

Skye shook her head, "Maybe, but then how was I going to get you to play."

"If Coulson joins us, I'll do it," Ward said with a cheeky grin.

"Please sir," Simmons pleaded.

"I have an idea," Fitz said, "What if Coulson and Ward have a face off. Loser has to do.. the dishes tonight."

"The dishes," Ward sighed, "Really?"

"It's perfect," Skye said, "What do you say A.C. will you join us?"

Coulson thought for a moment before he said, "Alright, I'll join you for a few dances."

"What about Agent May," Simmons asked while Ward and Fitz went to move the couch.

"Don't be daft Simmons," Fitz said, "May wouldn't want to do something so lackadaisical."

"We should at least ask," Simmons replied and this gave Skye the perfect idea.

"I'll do it and I bet I can get her down here and do one dance with me," Skye said confidently.

"If you do that, I will give you fifty dollars," Ward said with smile.

Skye grinned, "Easy money."

May had been sitting in the cockpit for the past thirty minutes. It was a quiet evening and she was enjoying the peacefulness of it all. At first she thought about joining the team in their little circle, but decided against it. Perhaps later on when they had dinner.

"Hey M," Skye called and entered the cockpit, "Good you're here. I need you to come downstairs, like right now."

May looked over her shoulder and asked, "Why did something happen?"

Skye thought for a moment before saying, "No not really. We're about to play a game on the Wii. Coulson is setting it up now and everyone needs a partner. Ward vs Coulson, Fitz vs Simmons... I vs you."

May shook her head, "No absolutely not."

"You don't even know what the game is," Skye pointed out.

May rolled her eyes and said, "I don't need to know, my answer is still no."

"Please," Skye begged, "It will be fun, come on it's Just Dance. All I ask is one dance. One and I will leave you alone. Don't make me get on my knees."

May could think of worse things to do than playing Just Dance, but still refused. However Skye wasn't kidding when she said she would get on her knees.

The young woman got on her knees and said, "Come down and dance with me."

May really didn't want to dance in front of the team. She still had some dignity, however the way Skye was looking at her and begging made her reconsider. Maybe one dance wouldn't kill her.

May looked at Skye and sighed, "Will me dancing make you happy?"

Skye nodded, "Yes, all I ask is one dance."

"Fine, but that is it," May said reluctantly.

Skye jumped up with excitement, "Yes, now come on."

The young woman grabbed May's wrist and pulled her out of the cockpit and down to the flat screen. Ward and Fitz moved the couch so it was facing the TV while Simmons moved the table so they had space to move. Coulson had just finished setting up the Wii and game when May and Skye appeared. Everyone stared at them in disbelief.

"Are you going to dance," Coulson asked May.

May glared at him. Coulson just stared, Skye was really working wonders on May and they had only just started to have a relationship.

Skye walked past Ward and whispered in his ear, "You owe me fifty bucks."

Ward scoffed, he grabbed his controller and handed the other to Coulson. Skye grinned happily taking her seat next to Simmons who was sitting next to Fitz. Ward was standing opposite of Coulson waiting for the game to set up.

Once everyone was seated and the game was set, Fitz chose the first song Coulson and Ward would dance to. Luckily everyone was in comfortable clothing, since this game tricked people into working out.

Ward, Skye and May were in workout clothes, Simmons and Fitz in t-shirts and sweatpants while Coulson... He was in his usual suit. Fitz chose Monster Mash because it was the first one he saw.

Ward and Coulson were waiting and began to follow the people on the screen. Already ten seconds into the game, Skye and Simmons were struggling not to laugh at them, Coulson especially.

Coulson wasn't necessarily doing bad, but he was more entertaining to watch considering he was in a business suit. Skye pulled out her phone to film the rest of it and would definitely use this as blackmail.

Simmons told her she wanted a copy of the video and so did May. Fitz was too busy laughing at the other agents to notice. Once the dance had ended. Ward had been declared the winner, beating Coulson by 250 points.

"That's hard," Coulson commented taking his seat next to May.

Ward nodded and took a seat in one of the chairs, "Agreed. I never would have thought a dancing game would be so tiring."

Skye chuckled, "It's the game that tricks people into working out."

"Of course, they use a fun form of entertainment to get people in better shape," Simmons said with a slight grin.

Fitz nodded, "It makes sense given the lack of exercise the people in some countries do."

"Fitz," Simmons hissed knowing what he meant by some countries.

Coulson said with a grin, "You two argue later. Ward, the next song is your choice."

Ward grinned, he chose Viva Las Vegas by Elvis for Fitz and Simmons. Simmons was more than happy to dance while Fitz was reluctant because he was extremely uncoordinated. The song started and already the team of scientists were having issues. It wasn't even their dancing that was that bad, it was the fact they kept arguing with each other on the best way to follow the moves.

Towards the middle of the song, Simmons started singing along with the song and Ward feeling in a good mood joined her. Skye filmed the whole thing and took several photos. Coulson watched the agents with a content smile while May struggled to keep herself from smiling. May could remember being their age, she remembered all the good times she had with Coulson and wished to go back to that.

She missed the days when everything was easier. Of course life was never easy, but the time in between was what she missed. This was the in between she had been waiting to see. The song was coming to a close, Simmons, Ward and Skye were singing the ending as dramatically as possible which caused the non-singing agents to laugh. Even May chuckled. Once Fitz-Simmons finished, Simmons won beating Fitz by 400 points.

With another dance over with, it was Skye's turn to dance and May to give it a try. The young girl stood up and stared down at May with her hands on her hips. May really did not want to do this.

"One dance," Skye said with a giddy smile.

May made a face of slight aggravation and disgust, but stood up. The other agents still could not believe Skye had gotten agent May, one of the best and most collected agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to play Just Dance. It was different with Coulson because although he was one of the best, he had a more friendly reputation than May. May and Skye stood in front of the flat screen while Simmons chose the song. She chose Jump. As soon as the song started May regretted her decision to let Skye talk her into this.

"Really," May asked looking from Simmons to Skye.

Skye just smiled, "This is one of my favorites. It's fun to dance to because it's hard!"

May rolled her eyes, she would get Skye for this. At first they both had a little difficulty with the moves however they started to get the hang of it. Even May had to admit she was having a good time. Coulson got a real kick watching May dance to this song with Skye, however he was smart enough not to show his amusement. It didn't take May and Skye long to get into the game, after the first chorus the two of them were completely in sync with the people on the screen.

Throughout the entire song, May and Skye were neck and neck one would get higher and then the other would press forward. Despite being put on the spot in front of her team, May had a really good time dancing with her daughter. In the end Skye won by 5 points which is a really close call in Just Dance.

"What did I tell you," Skye said with an 'I told you so' smile.

May set the controller down, "Okay I admit it wasn't that bad," she said with a straight face.

Skye scoffed, "It wasn't that bad, you had fun."

May wore a ghost smile. Coulson and Fitz were the next ones to dance and Skye chose for them to dance to Iko Iko. It was a good choice because watching Fitz and Coulson dance to that song was hysterical. This time Coulson had won by 600 points. The next dance was between Skye and Simmons, the song chosen for them was Girlfriend. Since both girls knew all the words, they would sing the chorus together much to everyone else's amusement. Skye wound up taking victory.

The next song was satisfaction and that was going to be between May and Ward. Skye found a way to convince May to stay, she whispered something to the older agent. No one knew what she said, but it got May to stay and dance. Ward and May danced and May won by 700 points.

"Well this game certainly works up an appetite," Simmons said.

"Agreed," Skye said laying on the floor next to Fitz.

They had just finished their dance off of SOS a minute ago and Fitz had finally won a dance.

"What do you guys say we get pizza," Coulson suggested and all the young agents looked at him with wide hungry eyes. "I take it by that reaction, it's a yes," Coulson chuckled when they all nodded.

"I'll get it," Ward offered, "What do we want? Also Skye this is your fifty bucks."

Skye's mouth fell open in mock hurt, "Cheater, but I suppose money going to pizza is worth it."

Ward smirked, he was going to get three pizza's, the first two pizzas were the classic cheese and pepperoni while the third had a little of everything on it. After Ward left, everyone took a seat and just started talking and just enjoying the other's company. May was mostly silent, Coulson added his input every now and again, but it was mainly Skye and Fitz-Simmons who kept the conversation going.

"We had some pretty good times at the academy," SImmons said referring to herself and Fitz.

Skye turned to Coulson and May with devious smile, "What about you two? Surely you have some pretty great stories to tell."

Coulson laughed nervously, "Oh boy. Let's see, what story could I tell you three… I know the perfect one, May you probably remember this one and our young recruit."

May glared as soon as she knew what story Coulson was referring to, "No," she said.

Coulson's smile widened, "Yes, May it is the perfect story to tell them, especially since it includes our old friend Clint."

"Clint Barton," Simmons asked, "As in Hawkeye the Avenger?"

Coulson nodded with a smile while May shook her head.

"You both knew him before he was an Avenger," Fitz questioned with surprise.

Coulson nodded, "Natasha too, we were a team for a little while not that long ago."

"How did I not know about this," Skye said in disbelief.

"You never asked," May said trying to act indifferent.

"Okay now you have to tell us what you guys did," Skye said with a smile.

May was ready to protest when Ward walked in, the pizza's in hand. He had perfect timing in May's opinion.

"I brought pizza," Ward called, Fitz-Simmons and Skye were up in a heart beat.

Once they were in the kitchen Coulson told May, "She's already making a difference with you."

May shook her head, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do," Coulson retorted with a smile, "You came downstairs to play Just Dance because Skye asked you too. I hope you realize had anyone else asked you that, you probably would have punched them in the face."

"I wouldn't have done that," May replied.

"Of course not," Coulson teased, "All I'm saying is, don't fight it."

"I'm not fighting it," May said.

Coulson gave her a look that said he didn't buy it, "I still have some sort of reputation to uphold."

"Hey love birds," Skye called, "The pizza will be gone if you don't hurry."

"Yes because Skye will have eaten it all," Fitz said flatly.

Coulson laughed and told May in a low voice, "Let's go before your daughter starts a fight with the scientist."

May rolled her eyes, but she liked the sound of Coulson saying _your daughter._ Having a daughter again, it made May feel like she was walking on air. She could get used to that.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"May stop it."

"I'll tell you why."

"They're just empty words."

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

"What if I fail?"


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys. I made a mistake, the teaser from last chapter was wrong. I wrote a few chapters ahead and have the teasers pre-made and I just copied and pasted the wrong one. I'm sorry about that. I would just leave it and have posted the other chapter early, but I really wanted to get this chapter in because 1) Philinda is in it and 2) It has some development between Skye and May. I did fix it so now you can see the original teaser. Sorry about the confusion, I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow if I can.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

 **(25 years ago)**

Three weeks had passed since Melinda gave birth. Twenty- one days had passed since she made the decision to keep her daughter and become a mother. Although scared out of her mind, Melinda was tough, she had found a new confidence in herself thanks to Phil. It was because of him she kept her daughter, it was because of him she was able to take care of her baby.

Keeping her baby was the best thing to ever happen to her. Melinda was standing in the doorway to her daughter's bedroom watching the infant sleep from a far with a peaceful expression. Melinda had been finding it harder and harder to sleep through the night much like her daughter. Nightmares had been haunting her sleep for a week now, all about the same thing.

The baby's father.

She remembered what happened to him and it haunted her. Their last meeting, the worst memory of all. _I'll find you, I'll find you and our daughter. I promise you that._ Melinda was afraid, she was afraid she would fail her daughter. Melinda pushed the words from her mind, she wouldn't fail. She would do everything and anything in her power to protect her baby, a baby who was happy, healthy and most of all safe.

She leaned against the white door frame and looked around the room. The walls were painted light blue with a few spaces left white to look clouds. When Phil designed the room with a few other agents, he wanted to give the room a sky effect and it seemed to be doing just that in Melinda's opinion. She could remember sitting in the living room, her baby asleep in her arms while Phil, Victoria and Maria, were painting the room. Melinda told them she would help, but Maria refused to let her, saying she needed to rest and stay with the baby. After protesting a couple of times, Melinda decided not to push her anymore and waited for them to be done.

"May, you should get some sleep," Phil said from behind.

Melinda didn't jump, she wasn't surprised. As a matter of fact, she had a feeling Phil would be up tonight.

"I'm fine," Melinda told him.

"You haven't slept in days," Phil reminded her, "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

There was a lot on Melinda's mind, whether or not she was going to be a good mother. If she would be able to protect her daughter from the evil in the world outside. Melinda's usual restless nights involved one or both of those things. The nightmares kept her awake. Every time she tried to go back to sleep she would see it, she would see flashes of them. Although she wanted to talk to about them and get it off her chest, she couldn't. She only wanted to think about her daughter sleeping peacefully a few strides away and not her bad dreams.

Melinda drew a long breath before saying, "Don't worry about me Phil, I'm just having a bit of insomnia. I'm fine." She turned to look at him, "Really I am."

Phil doesn't look convinced. He knows her better than anyone and can tell that something else is going on. However he knows she will come to him when she is ready to talk and clearly right now isn't the time.

Phil nods and gives her a gentle smile, "You'd tell me if something was wrong," he states, but it sounds more like a question in Melinda's ears.

Melinda nods, "Of course," she turns her head back and looks at the sleeping baby.

"Okay then," Phil replied he stood still for a moment before saying, "I'm here for you Melinda, if there's anything bothering you, I'm here."

Melinda took short breath, "I know," was all she said as she rested her head against the door frame still watching her daughter sleep.

Phil was about to walk away when she spoke again, in a small voice, "What if I fail?"

"You won't," Phil tells her confidently, "You will be a great mother. She's lucky to have you to look out for her."

"What about him," Melinda asked, "I see him. When I close my eyes... I remember that night, what he said."

Phil knew exactly what night Melinda was talking about, the night they found _him_ and the night he threatened her. They got an anonymous message, an email that was directed to Melinda. He wanted to meet in the Hunan Province and against her better judgment went to meet him. Mostly to see if he was okay after the events of months ago. When she met him near a village, she discovered he was clearly not okay.

"They're just empty words," Phil assured her.

Melinda shook her head, "I don't think so. He looked pretty serious when he threatened me that night- when he threatened Daisy. What if I fail her? What if I can't keep her safe and fail?"

Phil walked around and stood in front of Melinda with stern blue eyes, "Stop right there. He won't touch you or Daisy, I promise you. I don't care what I have to do, but I will not let that man near you or your daughter."

"He's too-" May started.

"Dangerous, strong, wild," Phil suggested and told her seriously, "I don't care. No matter what happens, I'm going to keep you and Daisy safe."

Melinda didn't say anything. She wanted to believe Phil, more than anything she wanted to believe him, but... She was afraid he would get hurt. Phil knew her 'ex' was going to be an issue, but he would be ready. Daisy was like a daughter to him and Melinda was an almost lover for him. They had known each other for a long time, he would rather die than see her upset.

"Do you believe me Melinda," Phil asked her softly.

"Yes," Melinda responded.

"Good," Phil told her, "Get some rest. You won't be a good mother if you can't even keep your eyes open."

Melinda smiled weakly at his attempt to lighten the mood. "I'm going to protect you and this baby," Phil told her, "I promise."

Melinda nodded slightly. Phil kissed her cheek lightly, her cool skin sending a rush through his body. Melinda closed her eyes and savored the feeling of his lips on her cheek. Although for only a second, their presence lingered filling her body with warmth. When Phil pulled away, he had to fight the urge to pull her into a kiss, knowing now was not the time. He loved her. He loved her more than anything, but they would never be more than what they were now.

Melinda looked at him with a sweet and grateful smile. She loves him, but she could never say those words aloud. He was a about to walk away when she grabbed his hand. Never once did her eyes leave his gaze as she laced her fingers with his own. He gripped her hand tightly and all the words left unspoken flooded their minds. Everything they wanted to say gnawing at them, rising in their throats only to be brought down again.

"Thank you," Melinda said when she meant, _I love you_.

"That's why I'm here," Phil replied when he meant, _I'll always be here for you._

* * *

 **Present**

The night after Just Dance, pizza and an old Disney movie, the team dispersed and went to bed. Fitz was the first to leave, Simmons and Ward followed a few minutes later. Skye was fighting to stay awake, she had been sitting with May and Coulson for half an hour just talking. Since Coulson knew the truth about Skye and May, the three of them were able to talk about it. Coulson for one had a good time pushing May, she reacted in a way he hadn't expected. In a way Melinda would respond, not Agent May.

It was the little things they spoke about. Coulson told Skye stories from his time at the academy and some incidents from when she was little. May was quiet unless Coulson provoked her, mainly she watched Coulson and Skye talk. Skye laughed at something Coulson said, but she wasn't paying close enough attention to hear his words. May was far too engrossed looking at Skye, her daughter, her 25 year old daughter who she found less than a month ago. The girl with eyes like her mother, hair and smile like her father and her personality, a mix of both.

Each day was a gift May was grateful for, but she wondered what life would have been like if she hadn't lost Skye. If things had turned out differently, would she have been sitting at home with her daughter and old friend at dinner? May pushed the if's out of her mind. This was the present and she couldn't focus on the possible scenarios that would never happen. Instead she refocused on Skye who was in disbelief by what Coulson was telling her. Right now he was in the middle of telling a story from the time Coulson and May vandalized one of their instructors cars.

"I'm dead serious," Coulson insisted.

Skye shook her head, "No, you're lying. There is absolutely no way you and my mom would do that to someone in authority."

May snapped out of her daze as soon as the words left Skye's lips. Even Coulson was surprised. Both of them thought it would take longer for Skye to warm up to the idea of calling May mom. The nickname was a step in the right direction, but they expected that to be the only step for awhile. A second too late, Skye realized what she had said.

Her cheeks grew red as she stuttered, "I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't ask you and it j-just slipped out."

May only stared at Skye, her breathing slightly labored and expression stunned. _My mom._ Those two words held so much meaning to May.

"No," May said breathless, "Don't be sorry... I just... I just didn't think you would call me that for a long time."

Skye grinned sheepishly, "Well it's just the three of us. Whenever we're together, you'll be mom. After all that is who you are to me. Might as well call you that."

May gave her a watery smile, one of joy and love, "I'd like that."

Skye's smile widened, "Awesome. Now Daisy is still a nice name, but that would take me forever to get used to."

"I won't call you Daisy unless situation is dire," May said honestly.

Skye nodded, "Fair enough. Let's test it out. Good night A.C. Good night mom."

May's heart fluttered at the name, "Good night Skye."

Skye smiled, stood up and walked back to her bunk. Her mind was spinning and her heart was racing. The last time she ever called someone mom, they had slapped her face saying she wasn't her mother. Skye could still remember the anger on that woman's face. It was just a slip up, but it was one Skye never made again. At first she regretted her words, but when she saw May's face... it was something she had never seen before. T

here was so much joy and love on her face that it made Skye happy. For less than a week she'd known May as her mom, but tonight made it official. She had someone to call mom. That was something Skye had never had the chance to do. This was one of the best nights of her life. May was still in shock after Skye left, she had called her mom twice in the same sitting.

"Wow," Coulson said once Skye was gone, "Less than a week and you've been bumped from May to M to Mom."

May looked at Coulson with slightly wide eyes, "I know... I didn't think she would call me that... well ever. Truthfully I thought it was too late for her to see me that way."

"I was expecting it to take time, a month at least," Coulson replied with a slight grin.

That smile faded when he noticed May's expression. It was impassive, blank and unresponsive. The initial shock from earlier was gone. Coulson knew what that meant, she was pushing aside whatever she was feeling. Years ago May never had any issues showing how she felt around others. Skye was like her in that sense. Always showing emotion, but that girl was gone. Coulson hoped to find pieces of that girl still there and recently, he was starting to see her again.

"May stop it," Coulson said sternly.

May looked at Coulson bored, "Excuse me?"

Coulson replied in the same stern tone, "You're doing it. You are pushing down whatever emotions you are feeling right now and I am telling you - no I am ordering you to stop. Skye, your daughter just called you mom. I know that not only scares you, but it makes you happy. So let it."

May swallowed hard, even after all these years he could still read her better than anyone else. "It's not that simple," May replied through gritted teeth.

"Why not May," Coulson asked, "Why does it have to be hard?"

May scoffed, "Look around Phil."

May never used his first name if it wasn't important or something was really wrong. When they really needed the other, it was always Phil or Melinda. It showed how serious and important the topic was.

"When I lost her, I thought I would never get this chance again. I always thought that if I did find her she would hate me, she would want nothing to do with me, but… Skye doesn't," May explained hoarsely, "Phil after everything that's happened, after everything I've done and let her go through, why doesn't she hate me? In less than seven days she calls me mom and I've done nothing to deserve that."

Coulson took May's hand into his and tells her, "Because Skye understands. You told her the truth, you've been looking for her, you wanted her. That's something Skye hasn't had before."

"Because of me," May retorted, "Because I wasn't there for her, _he_ took her away and then who knows what happened after that. She should hate me, but she doesn't. I failed her."

"You did everything you could and Skye knows that," Coulson replied firmly, "She knows now what you went through, how you never gave up on her. We don't know much about her past yet, but from what I can tell she was constantly moved around in the system. According to Skye, people gave up on her. Hearing that her mother never gave up on her, wanted her, makes her the happy."

"He's right," Skye said out of nowhere.

May snapped her attention from Coulson and looked at Skye, "How long have you been there?"

Skye shrugged, "Not long about a minute. The first thing I heard was, 'why doesn't she hate me?'"

Skye took a seat by her mom and said, "I'll tell you why. Being in the foster system growing up, if you were difficult or not a good fit they sent you back. Most foster parents gave up on me and sent me back to the orphanage. They didn't want me." Skye took a shaky breath and wiped a stray tear, "When you said you never stopped looking… that you wanted me. No one's ever said that to me. Finding out the person I've been looking for had been looking for me all these years too never gave up… It's the best feeling ever. I thought, for awhile anyway, that my parents didn't want me... Finding out my mom wanted me.."

Skye couldn't finish, she looked at May with teary eyes and a small smile. May held Skye's gaze before pulling the younger girl in her arms. Skye choked before releasing a sob, she buried her face into the crook of May's neck and cried softly. All the tears Skye had been holding back made their way to the surface and down her cheeks. She had a mom. Her mom wanted her, never gave up on her.

May closed her eyes trying to stop her own tears from falling. The fear she had of her daughter hating her, of not wanting anything to do with her vanished the moment Skye started talking. Her daughter wasn't angry. With one hand May rubbed Skye's back in circular motions while the other held the back of her head. For minutes, May and Skye stayed this way. No words were needed, being there was enough for both of them.

Coulson had rested one hand on May's back, this way she knew he was there as well. And after a minute, Coulson pulled his hand back and gave the mother daughter duo some privacy. May was grateful for that, she was grateful to have someone like Coulson there for her. Deep down she knew she still loved him, but those words would never reach the surface. Little did she know Coulson thought the same thing. His own words would never reach the surface as well.

* * *

 **Sorry again about the Teaser mix up.**

"More like canonballed."

"Maybe one day, if I'm lucky, I'll be like her."

"You aren't useful on the plane, be useful off it."

"Find anything?"

"I won't let that happen.

"Don't touch Lola."


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: I just wanted to say I love each and everyone of you. I've seen a lot of writers have nicknames for their followers and favoriters and I realized I don't have a name for you guys. So from now on, you are all my Agents. (I don't know if anyone has used that yet, I'm pretty sure someone has, but I don't care). You guys are my Agents. *Hands you a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

Something came up, Coulson had a new mission that he thought would be a good fit for his team. He found Skye in her bunk doing research on any files relating to the un-redacted document, but so far had come up short. May and Ward were having a sparring session in the cargo hold while Fitz-Simmons were upstairs in the kitchen. Once everyone was gathered in the command centre, Coulson went into the debrief and played the footage of a prison break.

"Infiltrated," Skye snickered, "More like canonballed."

"They were in and out in less than two minutes," Coulson explained, "Left no prints at the scene, but we have one lead." He zoomed in on the monitor to show the team the centipede device on one of the men's arms.

"Centipede," Ward questioned, looking from the monitor to Coulson.

"It seemed they salvaged some of their research from Hong Kong," Coulson replied.

"So we were right," Simmons says, "Chan's platelets solved their combustion problem. Now they can create super soldiers with no fear of explosion."

"Maybe don't get so excited about it," Fitz muttered to her.

"Two of centipedes labs have been destroyed, but they keep popping back up," Coulson said, "Now they have at least three of these guys, maybe more."

"Who did they break out," May asked focused on the monitor.

"Edison Po," Coulson answered, "A former Marine, expert in tactics and rapid response. He fell off the grid in '08, reappeared 18 months ago at a diner in Boston."

"Where he stabbed a friends eyes out," Ward said.

"With a steak knife," Coulson finished, "Then finished his meal."

"That's funny, Po doesn't look crazy," everyone looked at Skye, "I'm kidding the guy is walking mugshot."

"Which means he shouldn't be too hard to track down," said Coulson, "Finding Po and these centipede soldiers is a top priority for S.H.I.E.L.D. we'll be running point, but we won't be working alone."

"What team did HQ send for backup," Ward asked.

"Not a team," Coulson answered, "A person. Someone who can help us fight fire with fire."

"Somebody we worked with before," SKye asked curiously.

"Not exactly," was Coulson's response.

Mike Peterson came aboard the BUS not too much later, he was going to be their backup. Coulson and Ward left to see if they could find anything about one of the super soldiers through a relative. In the mean time Fitz-Simmons were working on a diagnostic suit for Mike, Skye was upstairs looking to find any information she could on Po from the inside.

"Find anything," May asked as she walked in to see Skye on her laptop.

Skye nodded, "Actually yes, as it turns out looking on the inside might lead to something."

Skye plugged her laptop into the monitor and showed May what she found. It was a woman who had visited Po once. "Po only had one visitor during his prison stint, her," Skye said, "You notice the outfit? Miles said a girl in a flower dress asked him to hack S.H.I.E.L.D. This could be the same girl."

"Can we hear the conversation," May asked, but Skye shook her head.

"That's the bummer," she said, "There was no audio, but not a total loss. I was able to use shield's lip reading program, because we have one those.. It didn't' work on the girl because she never looks up at the camera. But Po did once and it caught this."

Skye tapped the table monitor a few times and pulled a close up of Po talking and ran it through the program again. _The Clairvoyant does not like to be touched._

"I wrote that down, so we don't have to hear that again, ever," Skye muttered to May.

"The Clairvoyant huh," May questioned.

"Yeah," Skye said, "Does that mean anything to you?"

May shook her head, "No, but it means something to them, to Po and whoever that woman is."

"Her name's Raina," Mike said.

"You know her," Skye asked.

"Yeah, she recruited me for Centipede, came up to me at the hospital where I did my back therapy out of the blue," Mike explained, "Told me she could change my life."

"I'm going to run a face search," Skye said, "Maybe I can dig up something about her."

May nodded, "Yeah, I'll inform Coulson we have a new lead."

May had been in the command center doing some work of her own when she saw Skye go into visit Mike. She remembered first meeting Skye all that time ago and the whole issue with Mike. It was amazing to see how far they had come since then. May was going to turn the monitor off and give them privacy, but for some reason she didn't. Instead she left it alone as background noise and she was happy she did.

"Come in," Mike said.

Skye walked in and smiled, "Oh, it almost looks homey, she walks over to him, "Is that Ace? What a cutie. He must be so proud of you, his dad working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Which he can't know with everything being classified."

Mike laughed, "That's all right. He knows I'm working. Called him on his birthday and gave him all the "Heroes of New York" action figures."

"Nice," Skye replied, "Are you two close?"

"We're a team," Mike said with a smile, "I'd do anything for this little guy."

"It's got to be the best feeling, son looking up to you who wants to grow up to be just like you," Skye said softly, she had someone who she wanted to be like.

"Yeah," Mike replied, he looked at Skye and asked, "What about you?"

Skye breathed a laugh, "I found someone who I can look up to."

May looked away from her work and back at the monitor to see Skye sitting by Mike on the bed.

"Who," Mike asked with a grin.

"I was looking for a long time for uh, for my mom and it turned out she was looking for me to. She's great, this amazing woman," Skye paused, "Maybe one day, if I'm lucky, I'll be like her."

May smiled warmly at that. Skye wanted to be like her someday. A warm and happy feeling washed over May as she turned off the monitor and went back to work. If Skye wanted to be like her someday, May would make sure she was worthy to be someone Skye could look up to. Someone to be proud of.

Mike and Skye sat in silence for a brief moment until the door opened. Coulson walked in holding the suit Fitz-Simmons had been working on.

"You said you wanted a shot," he said, "Here it is."

Mike took the suit and replied, "I won't let you down."

Everyone met in the cargo hold and was given their instructions. Centipede had a new factory in California and that was where they were headed, May and Ward were going in on the side while Coulson and Mike went through the loading deck. Skye and Fitz-Simmons were the back end and back up. The three soldiers from before attacked, but this time two got away. Coulson was prepared to question the third, but he was killed. There was a small spark in his eye and then he was gone.

As it turns out, he had an eye implant much like Akela Amador, she was a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. After Mike was patched up he spoke to Coulson and he decided to give his son a call. However, he learned that someone else was with him, Raina and she was wanted to make a deal. Mike was sitting on the couch, his hands clasped together as she tried to put the pieces together.

"They want a trade," Coulson explained once the whole team was together, "Ace for his father, they've set a time and place."

"Bloody savages," Fitz snapped.

"They want to experiment on him, determine how he still has his abilities," Simmons said.

Ward spoke next, "And we're going to let them? We've fought these guys before."

"We don't have a choice," Coulson said, "The instructions they gave Mr Peterson were very specific. I called HQ and told them to stand down."

"Stand down," May said.

"So we take them alone," Ward replied.

May spoke again, "We should at least have a hostage-rescue unit in support on this."

"They said they would murder my son," Mike strained and everyone froze, "If we make one wrong move."

 _If Skye was in that position, what would you do?_ May pushed the thought aside, she couldn't think about the what if's or dangerous scenarios. She needed to focus on the task at hand. However the thought of being in Peterson's place and Skye in Ace's made May take another look at the situation.

"Any electronics, any comms or any sign of surveillance and they'll terminate the arrangement," Coulson explained.

"I'll give myself up, no problem. Get him back, can I figure it out from there," Mike said not having to think about it.

"You're still recovering," Skye said, "We can't just hand you over to them like that, can we?"

"Fitz-Simmons have a non-electronic method of tracking," Coulson replied.

"Simmons has fabricated an odorless scent," Fitz explained, "I have an instrument which can detect it, works like a bloodhound. Can track someone from over 50 kilometers."

"After we make the trade, we'll be able to follow Mr Peterson," Coulson said, "Buy him some time to get his strength back, we'll find him."

"I don't care what happens to me, as long as my boy is…" Mike started, but trailed off.

"I promise you, we're going to get your son back," Coulson said to him.

The others filed out and went to work, Mike stayed behind and so did May. She knew what it was like to lose a child. It was one of the most painful things she had ever encountered and she was determined to make sure Mike never felt that.

"We'll get him," May said sternly.

Mike looked at the agent and said, "What if something goes wrong? I can't lose my son, he's all I have."

May replied, "I won't let that happen. I know what it's like to lose a child, I lost my daughter and that was the worst thing to ever happen to me. I'm going to make sure you still have a son at the end of the day and that boy still has a father."

Mike nodded to May and they left to join the others. It was time to make the trade. When Mike started walking away from Raina and Coulson with his son, everyone began to panic because this wasn't the plan. They started to drag Coulson away. No one knew what to do, but they had to play it safe. Mike left Ace with Skye and he ran back onto the bridge when it blew up in flames, Mike and Coulson nowhere to be found.

"Mike," Skye panted, "Oh my God, Coulson."

May, Fitz-Simmons were by Skye's side when the helicopter rose from the other side of the bridge. Coulson was on there, and they were going to find him and why they took him away.

* * *

 **36 hours later**

As soon as Coulson was taken, everyone was up and running. A plan was made, a large number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were brought to the BUS to help in the search to find Coulson. Their first lead and catch was Vanchat, he sold rare alien medals to all kinds of people and to Centipede. Finding Centipede was the number one priority. Because if they found Centipede, they would find Coulson. Agent Hand was giving a debrief when Skye tried to hack the system and her bracelet gave her away.

"What do you think you're doing," Hand asked.

"The money trail's our key to finding Coulson," Skye replied, "I just need to gain access to Vanchat's financials and from there I can trace Centipede's payments, then hack into their account."

"You're the consultant, the one who shot agent Sitwell," Hand questioned, but it was more of a statement. "

Technically that wasn't me-" Skye started, but Hand cut her off.

"I want you off this plane, immediately," Hand said and walked away.

"What," Ward asked.

"Wait," Skye said and followed Hand, "I know I'm not some badass field agent like May or Ward, but this is what I do. You can't just kick me off this mission. Listen I will do whatever you say, all this protocol crap doesn't matter me. All that matters to me is Coulson."

"Well all this _protocol crap_ , matters to me," Hand replied, "You're a distraction and you're gone."

Ward spoke next, "Agent Hand, I know Skye's methods are unorthodox, but she's a member of this team. She can help."

Hand looked at May, "Agent May, your professional opinion. Will this girl be of any use to us on this plane?"

"No," was all May said.

Skye felt like she had just been slapped in the face. Her mother didn't stand up for her. The woman who she was getting to know, the one who wanted to be there for was letting her drown.

"Increase her restriction level, confiscate her laptop and phone, then have her delivered to debrief," Hand ordered.

"I'll do it," Ward said, "I'm her S.O."

Hand nodded and walked away. Skye just stared at May, "Ouch M," Skye said bitterly.

May sighed and said in a voice low enough for only Skye to hear, "You aren't useful on the plane, be useful off it."

Before Skye could ask what she meant, May walked away to go back to piloting the plane. Skye watched her go before turning and following Ward. Ward brought Skye to the cargo hold.

"I can find him," Skye insisted.

Ward nodded, "I believe you, I've seen first hand what you can do, even without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources."

Fitz-Simmons walked over, "Hang on, hang on." "We have something for you."

"You made me a sandwich," Skye asked.

"Yes," Simmons said, "It is that."

"It's a satellite phone, damper resistant," Fitz explained, "You get one shot before your bracelet shuts it down."

"Only call incase of an emergency," SImmons whispered.

"What do I even need this for," Skye questioned, "I'm going to be spending the next three days in a S.H.I.E.L.D. broom closet getting debriefed."

"That's right," Ward said, "A few agents are coming here to pick you up for debriefing."

In a low voice he said, "In exactly twelve minutes, good luck."

They walked away and disappeared into the BUS. Skye walked down the ramp and said to an agent who was about to touch Coulson's car, "Don't touch Lola."

* * *

 **Teaser**

"Remember our safe word."

You know mom that was a really slick move."

"In a heartbeat I would come for you."

"How can you say that?"

"What you did today, was good."


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: For returning readers, the teaser was changed, for new readers, the original teaser is down below. Okay I promise this is the last time I will make this mistake of mixing up teasers. Remember,** **I love all my Agents!**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

After Skye left, Ward and Fitz-Simmons became even more agitated with how the situation was being handled. Vanchat hasn't said anything since he arrived and Ward had, had enough. He wanted answers and his boss back and with the help of Fitz-Simmons he was able to get some answers. However Ward was also agitated with Hand especially since she kicked Skye off the plane, not to mention May.

How could she do that? After everything they had been through, how could she cast her aside when she knows what Skye is capable of. Needing a minute alone after a chat with Hand, he went to the one place on the plane where it was usually empty minus one. Ward and May had mostly business relationship however they could both understand each other in a way the others didn't. Both of them had been specialist before and having to work with so many people was hard. Ward walked into the cockpit and took a seat.

"There a problem," May asked.

"Victoria Hand," Ward replied, "We don't exactly see eye to eye."

"I'm sure she's utilizing all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources to find Coulson," May said flatly.

"Not all of them," Ward said, "You know, it wouldn't hurt to have Skye working an exploit. Why didn't you stick up for her?"

May felt a pulse of anger at the accusation, but didn't show it, "Excuse me?"

Ward continued, "She has proven herself on multiple missions. She's a part of this team and you let her get tossed."

May had to bite her tongue hard to keep from saying something she would regret, "All I did was tell Hand the truth," May replied, "Skye's no use to us on this plane."

"How can you say that," Ward asked surprised.

"She's not," May retorted, "Not with all these agents here over her shoulder, monitoring her every move."

Now Ward understood, he sighed, "You wanted her off the plane."

"Outside the system," May smiled briefly and said, "That's how Skye works best."

She paused before saying, "You don't have to assume the worst of me."

Ward felt guilty about assuming May would just let Skye get tossed, but it did look that way. However he was impressed.

"Agent May, change of plans, sending new coordinates now. We found their helicopter at a laboratory outside the Mojave desert."

"Copy that," May said through the comms. She turned them off and began to press different buttons, "Coordinates received. Hang on to something," she told Ward and turned the plane on a different course.

* * *

Skye was having a great day, once she left the BUS she went to computer cafe only to get locked out by S.H.I.E.L.D. since everything was on lockdown. So she did a little searching and found Mr Rathman who had connections to Vanchat. Skye stole a car and some clothes and had herself towed to his house where she could set her plan into motion. Once he arrived she passed herself off as Agent May because it seemed appropriate at the moment. She knew she wouldn't be able to get into S.H.I.E.L.D. because of her bracelet, so she needed another set of hands.

Unfortunately Rathman was not all that great with computers, Skye had to use one of the PD security officers she subdued in order to get where she was going. She knew once she had those transaction records, she would be in business. After a couple minutes she found the records she needed got a car from Rathman and was on her merry way. Fitz-Simmons were explaining their new night-night invention for the centipede soldiers to Ward and May in the lab when the emergency phone started ringing.

"Hello," Simmons said.

"Simmons it's me," Skye replied.

"Why hello Dr Nugent," SImmons said trying to act natural, but failing.

May made a face, when Skye said Simmons was horrible at improv, she wasn't kidding. The girl was pitiful.

"Is someone there," Skye said through the phone, "God don't try to lie, you are the worst at this. Remember our safe word."

"Manscaping," Simmons asked then regretted it, "Oh shouldn't have said that. Um I am right as rain, couldn't be better old chap."

May had enough of this, she needed to know Skye was alright and got the information. Seeing as Simmons wasn't going to get anywhere trying act normal, she needed to get rid of any witnesses.

"You three out," May ordered the extra scientists.

"Listen up," Skye said through the phone, "I may have a lead on where centipede's holding Coulson."

May walked around and took the phone from Simmons, "Skye?"

Skye gaped for a moment before a smirk appeared on her face, "You know mom that was a really slick move."

May rolled her eyes and muttered later before saying, "What have you found?"

Skye grinned and told May everything who then relayed the information to Simmons, Fitz and Ward. They needed to go. The others got ready while May told Hand what they were going to do.

"We're about to launch a major assault on the centipede lab and you want to take your team to the desert based on a hunch from Skye," Hand questioned, but it was more of a statement.

"It's not a hunch," Ward said.

"Skye followed the money from Vanchat back to Centipede," Fitz explained.

Simmons added, "Turns out they recently purchased a small development, less than 100 miles from here."

"Well that's great news for their real-estate portfolio," Hand replied, "But we have confirmed activity at the lab, I'm taking a strike team to investigate. End of story."

"So we split up," May said, "You take the strike team and go after Centipede. We'll investigate Skye's lead, see if Coulson's there."

"You backed my decision to kick Skye off the plane," Hand pointed out.

May showed a hint of a smirk, "Seems like it worked out."

"Seems like you played me," Hand replied.

Ward interrupted, "Look, this isn't personal, but I am taking my team and we're going to find Coulson. Send backup if you want."

Ward walked away followed by Fitz-Simmons who were ready to go. May started to leave, but Hand stopped her.

"Agent May," Hand said and May stopped walking, "You wouldn't do something that underhanded for just anyone."

May gave Hand a knowing look, "You remember how I used to work. You always said flowers would be the same."

Hand's eyes widened slightly. That was the nickname she had given May's daughter all those years ago.

 _I can't believe you named her after a flower._

 _It seemed appropriate._

 _Sure it did May. Looks like I'll be calling her flowers for the rest of her life._

With a ghost smile, Hand replied, "I remember it well."

May grinned at her faintly before getting in the car with her team. Skye made it to the town first and as soon as she saw all the mannequins around was officially creeped out. She walked around for a little bit until a centipede soldier made his appearance. And not knowing what else to do, Skye took off. Just as she made it past a building, a car showed up and hit the solder, sent him flying through the air. It was her team.

Skye laughed when they got of the car, she made her way over to them and said, "You guys have the best timing."

Fitz-Simmons cracked a smile while May and Ward got the supplies they needed to get ready for a fight. When Skye saw May, she sent her a sly grin and wink. May nodded to her, she knew Skye would be able to handle this. After all, they were about to find Coulson and it was thanks to Skye.

"Coulson's got to be here, somewhere," Skye told them, "We need to split up."

Simmons turned around to see another soldier, "Or run," she said.

Ward was unphased, "I'll take care of him," he said.

"Are you sure," May asked.

Ward looked at Fitz-Simmons invention, "I got this," he replied confidently.

Ward went after the soldier, "Come on let's move," May said and they split up.

They would find Coulson, they just needed to look in the right places. Ward fought the centipede soldier well, but trying to get the bracelet on him was not going to be easy. He already knew this, but it was worse than he anticipated. So he took out the dendrotoxin and put it in the soldier's mouth, activated it and went on his way.

"Stop fighting it Agent Coulson," Raina told him, "Stop fighting it."

Coulson whispered in pain, "Please let me die."

After going through several 'homes' Skye found the one with Coulson and Raina. Coulson was lying on a table with his head under some sort of glowing arch. What was she doing to him?

Skye walked in and Raina walked over to her, "It's for his own good," she said.

Skye punched her. She hurried over to Coulson right as he yelled, "Please let me die!"

Fear and panic washed over her, what had they done to him? What was this machine doing to him? May walked in a moment later and saw Coulson lying there and repeating the same thing over and over again, let me die. Words that broke May's heart and made Skye fear for him further. Skye tried to turn the machine off, but didn't know how. May couldn't wait, she unplugged the machine and he was pulled out of whatever he was in before.

"Coulson, Coulson," Skye said worriedly, tears swimming in her eyes, "Come back, come back, come back, come back."

He gasped for air and Skye began to panic. May was standing next to her, trying to stay calm, but she was afraid. Skye held his hand, hoping, praying he would wake up.

"Come on," Skye said.

"Skye," Coulson breathed out, "Skye."

Tears fell down Skye's face. She rested her chin on his hands and let the tears fall. Skye felt something in her hand and felt fingers lace with her own. It was May. Skye looked at May gratefully who nodded, a silent way of saying it would be okay. Skye still held Coulson's hand, but she released May's and wrapped her arm around her.

May hugged her back and whispered, "We found him, he will be okay. You helped him, you saved him."

Skye bit her lip as more tears fell down her face. She couldn't lose anyone else and seeing Coulson in this state made her feel sick. May and Skye split their hug and looked back at Coulson. He was more alert than before, but he was still out of it. May gripped Skye's hand firmly as reassurance until the others came in. Ward called for backup while Simmons checked him. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were over in minutes, a full medically team brought Coulson in while the team had to wait. Ward and Fitz-Simmons went ahead, but Skye and May stayed behind.

"What you did today, was good," May told her.

Skye gave her a sad smile, "If you didn't get me kicked off, who knows what would have happened."

May shrugged, "I know how you work, you don't do well when you're confined."

Skye chuckled, but it faded after a moment. She looked at her mom with sad eyes and asked, "Will he be okay? I mean who knows what they did to him. He was saying he wanted to die and-"

"Shh," May replied, "Coulson is strong, I know he will come back from this. Don't worry too much, he'll be okay. Come on, let's go before we're missed."

Skye nodded, she followed May outside where the others were waiting. They went back to the BUS and made it to the lab where they would have to wait and see how Coulson was doing. Luckily he was doing as well as he could. He didn't have any major injuries which was good, the only real issue was what was going on in his head. However he didn't mention it, so no one knew what he was facing. Fitz-Simmons were sitting in the desk, Ward was behind them and Skye was standing near the desk when May appeared by her side.

"Nice jacket," May commented.

Skye smiled at that, but didn't say anything. Later she would tell her mom the whole story about what she did. During their debrief session, Skye didn't explain everything she did, only the important parts. Raina was being escorted to a jail and they watched her as Hand gave the agents with her instructions.

"I bet there are no flower dresses where she's going," Simmons commented.

Fitz nodded, "Amen to that sister."

Coulson made an appearance atop the stairs, he and Raina made eye contact before she got into a car. There was so much going on his head, he was sure what to do. He walked down the stairs, Hand explained what was going on. Centipede labs were falling apart and the search for the Clairvoyant became top priority. Coulson thanked Hand for what she has done and they shook on it.

Hand looked away from Coulson at Skye remembering the conversation she had with May earlier. Her eyes flickered to May who wore a small smile, knowing exactly what her old S.O. was thinking. Hand gave her slight nod which May returned. Without another word, Hand left to deliver Raina to debrief. The team appeared behind Coulson and he had never been so grateful to know them. Hearing about what they did for him, all they went through made him the happiest man alive.

"I just wanted to say," he told them with a soft smile, "Thank you, for what you did."

Ward nodded, "Glad to have you back."

Coulson smiled, he opened his arms and said, "Bring it in, I missed my team."

Skye and Simmons went in first and Fitz followed them.

Ward and May just stood watching until Coulson called them out, "Get over here."

"Join the hug," Simmons said.

"Come on in," Fitz teased, "You know you want to."

Skye eyed May before glancing at Ward. She released Coulson, Skye walked over to them and grabbed their wrists and pulled them over to Coulson. Once close enough, they joined the hug.

After they all released each other Coulson told them, "Now get back to work."

Fitz-Simmons nodded with a smile. Ward nodded and left with Fitz-Simmons upstairs while May scoffed and stood by the stairs.

Skye smiled at Coulson and said, "Good to have you back."

Coulson replied, "I heard what you did for me, thank you Skye. It means a lot."

Skye shook her head, "You can thank mom for that, she got me kicked off a plane."

"I did not get you kicked off," May retorted making Skye laugh.

"No I'm pretty sure you got me kicked off the BUS," Skye replied.

"That's not how it happened," May said with a hint of a smile.

Skye nodded, "Oh you're right, you didn't get me kicked off. She let me get tossed."

Coulson just shook his head, "Nonetheless, thank you Skye... I think it's time we removed this."

Coulson took Skye's hand and said, "Disengage bracelet."

The look on Skye's face was priceless, "Are you kidding me?"

"Thought you'd like that," Coulson smirked.

Skye chuckled, but it faded away, "In that room. Did they learn anything?"

"No," Coulson replied.

"Did you," Skye asked, "I heard what you were saying, mom did too."

"It wasn't real," Coulson lied, "They were just messing with my head, but I appreciate your concern."

Skye nodded then frowned, "Wait a minute." She turned around to look at her mother, "you couldn't say _disengage bracelet_?"

May rolled her eyes, "It wasn't my place."

"Wasn't your place are you kidding, you couldn't say two simple words," Skye said clearly distracting from the previous topic.

"It wasn't my place," May repeated.

"No first you don't get rid of the bracelet then you get me kicked off a plane," Skye retorted smiling.

"I did not get you kicked off," May replied exasperated.

Coulson laughed at them, "Enough, away with you two."

Skye turned on her heel with a smile and joined May at the bottom of the stairs. The two of them walked up bickering about how May let Skye off the BUS. The sight made Coulson happy, but it soon faded. There was something he needed to do, someone he needed to talk to.

After everyone had gone to bed, Skye and May were sitting on the couch together. Technically May was sitting and Skye was laying down with her head on May's lap. They heard what Coulson was saying, Skye hearing him say that just broke her heart and she wondered what they did to him. What was so bad that he wished for death.

"What did they do to him," Skye whispered staring off into space.

May stroked the side Skye's head and sighed, "I don't know Skye, I don't know."

Skye closed her eyes asked a question she needed an answer to, "Mom, would you come for me?"

May was surprised by the question, she looked down at Skye and asked, "What do you mean?"

Skye took a deep breath, "Like how we came for Coulson, would you do that for me?"

"I would," May said without a second thought, "In a heartbeat I would come for you."

"Even if you had orders not to," Skye asked, her tone light, but question heavy.

"Screw orders," May replied, "You're my priority, you need me and I'm going to be there. No matter what comes in my way, I will come for my girl."

Skye smiled at that, it made her feel good to know May would come. No one else was ever there when she needed someone. It was nice to have someone who be there when she called.

"Thanks mom," Skye said softly with a wide smile.

* * *

 **(Revised) Teaser**

"I'll always be here for you."

"And never let go."

"I haven't found anything yet."

"You're going to teach me how to fly a plane?"


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Okay so there was an idea behind this chapter that I had. There was this book I read when I was little, it was called the Kissing Hand and has forever been one of my favorite stories next to Little Madeline and Green Eggs and Ham. I thought it would be a good idea to use a quote from that book and give it to May and Skye. It might be a little sappy, but everyone needs a little sappy in the hard times, so enjoy my Agents. As always thank you so much for the follows and favorites and reviews.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used. I do not own the Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

Coulson had found the answers he was looking for, he learned from the doctor who operated on him that he was brought back from the dead. How he had been dead for days, but was brought back because of Fury's efforts to save his friend. The whole thing was too surreal for Coulson. After his talk with the doctor who operated on him, he was able to get all the files about his death. Reading the files, learning the truth felt all too real for Coulson and he was struggling to comprehend it all. Coulson left the night he had gotten back to talk to the doctor then returned the next afternoon only to lock himself in his office.

Two days straight, no one from the team saw Coulson. Although they were worried, they decided it would be best to give him some space considering the state he was in. Whatever happened to him, clearly hit him hard. Skye would be lying if she said she hadn't tried to go see Coulson, only to find his office door locked or he wasn't there. Despite what he said before, about being fine, she knew he wasn't and wanted to help in any way she could. Fitz-Simmons were down in the lab doing work from their S.O. while Ward was lashing out at a punching bag. Skye was upstairs, lying on the floor next to the couch while May was in a chair reading a book.

"Mom," Skye said.

"Hmm," May said, her eyes trained on the book she was reading.

Skye propped herself on her elbows and asked, "Is Coulson okay? He hasn't left his office since he got back and I'm worried."

May put her book down and looked at Skye, "Coulson is still shaken about what happened, he hit a low point. He's strong and he'll bounce back from this."

"Are you sure," Skye questioned still not convinced.

May nodded, "It will take time… Come on, I think you're in need of a distraction."

May stood up and extended her hand down to Skye. She took it and followed May up to the cockpit. After they left the Mojave Desert, May thought it would be a good idea to just let the BUS sit for awhile.

Skye sat down in the co-pilot's chair and asked, "Are we going somewhere?"

May was searching through the side door as she replied, "No."

Skye looked back at May and was curious about what she was doing. However she didn't ask, she knew May would show her once she found it. And after another minute of searching May found what she was looking for. It was a piloting manual and it was big. May sat down in the pilot's chair with the large book in her lap and Skye gaped.

"That's big," Skye commented to May's amusement.

"This is one of the many piloting manuals for the BUS," May explained, "I'm going to teach you a few basic things."

Skye eyes lit up, she had always wanted to fly a plane, "Are you serious? You're going to teach me how to fly a plane?"

"Does it look like I'm joking," May asked with an eyebrow raised.

Skye grinned, "I've always thought it would be cool to pilot a plane. Maybe one day I could take the BUS for a spin…"

"Not for a very long time," May teased, "Let's start out with something easy, what buttons and levers control what."

Skye nodded eagerly and listened as May explained what everything did. May was surprised to see Skye excited to do this and that she was paying attention to everything she said. Honestly May was worried that Skye wouldn't interested in this. The girl was full of surprises. After two hours, Skye was able to recite half of the controls in the cockpit and what they controlled. May went up to check on Coulson while Skye went searching for Ward, she found him in his bunk.

"Hey," she said with a slight grin, "Whatcha got there?"

Ward looked up from his book and said, "Not something you would interested in. Where have you been?"

Skye leaned against the door frame, "I was with May, she was showing some of the controls for the BUS. I had asked her to show me some stuff and she did."

"That's good, way to branch out rookie," Ward told her, "Can I ask you something?"

Skye shrugged, "Sure, what's up?"

"Why did you start hacking," Ward asked.

He never asked before, all the team knew was that she was a hacker for the Rising Tide, but no one asked why or how she got involved with the group. Little was known about Skye's past and Ward would be lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit curious. Skye was something foreign to him, someone he couldn't understand and he wanted to understand.

"Well," Skye hesitated, "I started hacking for a number of reasons. I was always good with computers. I didn't like not knowing things, so I wanted to always have answers. Um secrets was an issue for me, I was looking for someone. There's a lot."

The last part stuck out to Ward, "Who were you looking for," Ward asked.

Skye licked her lips before answering, "The main reason I learned how to crack codes and hack was because of S.H.I.E.L.D. I was looking for my parents…. all my searches led to one document, redacted. So I joined the Rising Tide so I could hack S.H.I.E.L.D. and hopefully find something."

"Did you," Ward asked, "I'm sure if you told Coulson he could-"

"He knows," Skye replied, "The only reason I'm still here is because I told him that. He agreed to help me, but it's going to take time…."

Ward frowned, "You haven't found anything? No new clue or lead?"

Skye wasn't going to tell Ward the truth now, but a part of her wanted to. Truthfully, Skye wanted to tell the others about her and May. But she couldn't. Skye was torn between wanting to keep her mom to herself or letting the others know.

"No," Skye lied, "I haven't found anything yet."

"You'll find something soon," Ward told her, "I know you will."

Skye smiled, "What about you Ward? What made you come here?"

Ward smiled at her, "My S.O. Garrett found me when I was at a rough spot in life… you already know about my issues with my older brother and bad parents.. Times were hard and Garrett gave me a... way out in a sense, something to be. He brought me to S.H.I.E.L.D. and I've stayed ever since. Really not that much to it."

Skye nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Do you still have contact with them, your family?"

Ward shook his head, "No, I didn't leave on good terms with them."

"I'm sorry," Skye said softly.

"Don't be," Ward replied, "It's thanks to them I found a family I can count on."

This made Skye happy, "Ward's gone soft."

Ward laughed, "Yeah yeah yeah, goodbye rookie."

Skye laughed and went to her bunk while Ward went back to reading, but all he could think about was Skye. Coulson stayed in his office staring at the walls replaying both Tahiti's in his mind. One filled with pain while the other was of a nice beach. He preferred the beach.

"Coulson you can't keep yourself locked up in here," May said when she returned to his office.

He was sitting behind his desk, his back to May as he replied, "I know, but… I just can't stop thinking about it. What happened… I just need answers and…"

He didn't have to finish for May to understand what he was trying to say. May walked around Coulson's desk and stood in front of him. His skin was pale and he looked worn down.

"I'll leave you alone, but I have to say this," May said gently, "We're here for you Coulson. I'm here for you."

"I know," Coulson whispered, "Thank you May."

May smiled at him softly before leaving him alone to his solitude. May was up early the next morning, she couldn't stop thinking about Coulson. She was worried about him and as time went on, her worry only grew. It was almost 6:00 when May finished putting on her workout clothes and left her bunk. However she was surprised to see Skye. Skye was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt two sizes too big for her with her hair in a messy ponytail. The younger woman spotted May and she pulled out her headphones.

"Hey," she whispered yelled, "What are you doing up?"

May walked over to Skye and whispered, "Tai Chi, what are you doing up and why are you all sweaty."

A moment later, May noticed Skye's bloody knuckles. Sharply May grabbed her hand to inspect her knuckles.

"What happened," May asked worriedly. "Ow," Skye grimaced, "I was punching the punch bag for awhile..."

"Let me guess, you didn't tape your hands," May said, "Skye-"

"I was just," Skye protested, but May cut her off with a stern look.

"You know you are supposed to tape your hands for a reason," May scolded, "To prevent this from happening. Come on."

May led Skye downstairs to the lab where she pulled out the first aid kit. Skye sat on one of tables not looking at May. It had been a rough night for Skye. May cleaned Skye's cuts and bandaged them in silence, a silence she hadn't expected from Skye of all people.

"What's wrong Skye," May asked concerned, "Why were you punching at this hour?"

"Just some bad dreams," Skye muttered under her breath.

"About what," May asked trying to get Skye talking.

Skye looked like she was ready to break down, she inhaled sharply, "I don't want to talk about it… It's nothing."

"You're about to start crying," May stated, "I don't think it was nothing."

Skye looked into May's eyes and said, "You left." May didn't speak and Skye continued, "Everyone either leaves me or sends me away. Why would you be any different? You're just going to send me away or leave and I'll never see you again, because this-" Skye gestured to herself and May, "Is too good to be real…. You weren't there before, why would you be here now? Why would you stay?"

May felt her heartbreak at Skye's words. Because she didn't do her job the first time, Skye had to suffer and feel unwanted her whole life. All May ever wanted was her daughter, Skye. All she ever wished for was a chance to be with her and here it was, but now she wondered if she was too late.

Skye knew what she was saying to May wasn't nice, but she was upset. In her nightmare Skye saw every bad home she had ever been, saw every terrible thing that had happened to her. At the end she saw May and although she didn't really blame May for her not-so-great childhood, it was the fact that she wasn't there. Skye always felt unwanted, May wanting her was still something she didn't understand.

"I know I wasn't there," May said after a minute of silence, "I'm sorry for that, but you have to know I wanted to be there. I've always wanted you Skye. I will never leave you. From the moment I held you as a baby for the first time, all I wanted was to be with you, to be there for you and protect you." May looked into Skye's eyes, "Getting to know you has been amazing, seeing the woman you've become…. has made me so proud of you. I promised you Skye that I would never let you go. I couldn't keep that promise before, but now I will do everything in my power to keep it now. I'm not going anywhere... I love you Skye."

Skye knew May meant every word. No one has ever said anything like that to her before. Skye stood up and wrapped her arms around May. At first May was caught off guard, but she returned the hug happily.

"I'm here for you Skye," May said as she rubbed her daughter's back, "I'll always be here for you."

Skye nodded, but didn't have any words to say. She believed May and that was all that mattered to Skye now. "I love you mom," Skye whispered.

May felt her heart stop. A huge smile grew on May's face as she replayed Skye's soft words in her head over and over again. Four words that held so much meaning to May. A phrase she had dreamed of hearing, but never thought she would have the chance to hear.

"You know what we need," Skye said as she released May from her hug.

"What," May asked knowing Skye wanted a topic change.

"A saying," Skye replied, then explained, "Something that only the two of us share. Something we could tell each other before missions."

"You mean like good luck, or be safe," May asked.

Skye thought about it, "Kind of, but we wouldn't say that. It would be special."

May nodded, "Alright, what do you have in mind?"

Skye blushed slightly, "There was this book I saw at the library when I was a kid. It was called the Kissing Hand. The kid or raccoon actually, was going to their first day of school, but they didn't want to leave their mom. So the mom kissed their hand saying that if they missed her, pressed your hand to your cheek. And there was this phrase in the book that I always liked."

May knew that book, she had seen it a few years after she lost Skye. It made her imagine sending the daughter she never knew to school for the first time or teaching her how to read and talk. All the things May had wanted to do, but never could do because of that night.

Absently May said, "My love is strong and close to you. All throughout the day, heart in hand always near and will never go away."

"That was it, that was the phrase," Skye said.

May smiled, "When I first saw that book, I thought about you. That was the phrase that stuck out to me. I guess it could be our thing."

"But it's missing our touch," Skye said, "At the end we should say, never let go. A promise."

"Perfect," May said, "Want to test it out?"

Skye nodded and May went on, "My love is strong and close to you, all throughout the day…"

"Heart in hand, always near and will never go away," Skye added and together they said, "And never let go."

Skye grinned, "Alright, we have a saying."

"Yes we do," May replied, "What should we do now? You've already done punching and we have a few hours before the others wake up."

Skye sighed, "Not sure. We could do your ancient slow moving art."

May rolled her eyes and they headed to the cargo hold and set up the mats.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"We're not going."

"We drew up those concept years ago."

"You know I'd be the first to go down that road if I thought it led somewhere."

"She wasn't the first to die."

"Which is why I want her to hear about the other part from me."


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey guys! Just a quick little talk up here, I know I sent some PM's out to people to say thank you and for those I could not PM, thank you so much for the reviews. They make me really happy. I know most are really late because you reviewed in an earlier chapter, but I just I should say thank you individually instead of generally. AND 100 followers! *Squeals* thank you, thank you, thank you guys so much! Okay I'm calm, i'm so... who am I kidding, I'm so happy *runs screaming***

 **On with the show.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

As the days went on, Skye and May had grown even closer. Every morning and every night they saw each other and both of them enjoyed the time together. The team followed their own routines while Coulson was still hiding away in his office. May was the only one he would see during this time. Of course the others would try and go see him, but he always sent them away saying he just needed to be alone. Skye didn't believe it, neither did the others.

The days that followed were mostly quiet. During the day everyone followed their own routine, get up, eat, do their exercises, practice, relax, eat and have down time. The team would spend time together every night to have dinner, Coulson never came, but they would all take turns in bringing the food to him. He was grateful for that, he was also happy they didn't press him about what happened. Things were mostly peaceful and at a standstill of sorts. Eleven days had passed before things were set into motion for this team, they were going a trip.

"There is nothing more unsettling, being a part of something so horrible," Simmons said, "Completely unaware, the cadet could have died."

"We drew up those concepts years ago," Fitz said, pouring out the rest of the coffee, "We didn't know they'd be applied in that way."

"Is this the device they found in the frozen pool, correction the instantly frozen indoor pull," Skye said looking at the tablet with Ward.

Ward sighed, "It seems like it was planted in the filter days before, like someone was waiting for those specific cadets."

"Well as far as they can tell the device uses a crystalline nucleation process she designed," Fitz explained.

"And a delivery mechanism he invented," Simmons added taking a sip of her coffee, "That's why we're being asked to consult on the investigation."

"So we're going to the academy," Skye asked.

"Science and technology division," Ward answered, "Cadets are pretty shaken up over what happened. Agent Weaver asked if you two could speak to the student body about potentiality to calm them down."

"Of course, the talk," Simmons replied, "We've all heard the talk."

"I haven't," Skye pointed out.

"I guess you will," Ward said taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well, I've heard a lot about the Academy," Skye replied with a slight grin, "I'm excited to finally see it."

"Me too, never been to Sci-Tech before," Ward commented.

Skye raised her eyebrows, "Never, huh. So what, the different S.H.I.E.L.D. academies don't interact?"

"Not much," Ward said, "Academy of communications does, but they're the biggest and focused on data analysis."

Fitz-Simmons replied, "It's the easiest to get into. -Boring. That's where you'd be, Skye."

"Thanks," Skye said sarcastically.

Ward spoke next, "Operations is the most aggressive program. More people wash out of operations than the other academies."

"So which one's the hardest to get into," Skye looked at her team and saw the intense stares, "I'm picking up on the rivalry between sciences and operations." May walked by and Skye asked her, "Are you and Coulson past all that, or you gonna help Ward steal their mascot?"

May had a comment, but decided not to say it with the team present, instead she replied, "We're not going. After we drop you off, Coulson and I have other matters to attend to."

Skye wanted to ask why, but May was already gone, "Coulson hasn't come out of his office in awhile. Do you think he's all right," Skye asked.

"We saw him at a low. It's not easy for anybody, but Coulson's tough as they come," Ward told his team, "He'll be good, just give him time. And while he takes that time, it's on us to figure out what's going on at the Academy."

Fitz-Simmons nodded and made their way to the lab while Skye went after May. She wanted to know why her and Coulson weren't coming.

"Mom," Skye called and went after the older agent, "Wait a sec. Why aren't you and Coulson coming with us?"

"We have other matters to attend to," May said flatly.

Skye furrowed her brow, "Like what exactly? What are you two up to?"

"Skye," May started, but Skye cut her off.

"No do not keep stuff from me, please," Skye said, she hated not knowing things.

She hated it more when people knew things and wouldn't tell her. May thought about telling Skye what she had found, but wasn't sure if she should. However the look in her daughter's eyes made her reconsider.

May drew a long breath, "Fine, I have a lead for another case, to help get Coulson's mind off of what's happened. I'll tell you about it later, okay?"

Skye didn't like that answer, but at least she would know what was going on eventually. It was better than never.

"Okay," Skye replied reluctantly.

May asked, "Do you want to do _it_? This will be the first mission since we came up with it."

Skye looked at May nervously with a light blush on her cheeks, "You don't have to, I mean I know it was kind of sappy-"

"It isn't that sappy," May grinned softly, "My love is strong and close to you. All throughout the day-" "Heart in hand, always near and will never go away," Skye said. Together they finished, "And never let go."

May took Skye's hand and told her, "Be safe, I love you."

Skye smiled, "You too."

Skye and the others parted ways with the BUS and headed to the Academy and investigate what was going on. In the mean time, May and Coulson had a mission of their own. May had been doing some research in her free time about Skye's past and did a search on the agent who left her at the orphanage. May wanted answers about what happened to her baby girl all those years ago and she was going to need some help.

She walked into Coulson's office and sighed when she saw what he was doing, "You have got to put that away."

"How can I," he asked, "You read it."

"And you haven't stopped reading it," May pointed out walking over to him.

"I just can't get my head around it," Coulson admitted, "I remember what happened the pain - but I also remember Tahiti."

May cut him off, "What's in that file it's the truth."

"Says who," Coulson asked. "Director Fury," May answered.

"If I hadn't asked, he'd have kept it from me, kept me from knowing," Coulson replied defeated.

"And now that you know, you feel better," May asked then said, "Put it away."

Coulson sighed and closed the files, "You want to tell me why we're flying to Mexico City?"

May replied, "To get your head working on something else. I've been looking into into the agent who dropped Skye off at the orphanage."

"Agent Avery," Coulson said, "She was killed."

May nodded her head, "But her partner wasn't. He disappeared."

"Richard Lumley," Coulson said looking at the tablet May gave him.

"Went off-grid 23 years ago, the day after Avery was crossed off," May explained.

Coulson's brow furrowed, "He's resurfaced?"

"A few days ago, a Mexican teenager posted a selfie on his facebook page managed to capture our guy leaving a grocery store in the background," May replied.

"If he's good enough to avoid S.H.I.E.L.D. all these years, he'll know," Coulson pointed out.

May's lips curled into a small smile, "And he'll be on the move. We have a short window to intercept. I need to know what happened. I need to find out what happened to my daughter, but I need your help."

Coulson nodded, "We find him, we find out what really happened, how long until touch down?"

May grinned, "40 minutes."

She was going to find out what happened to her daughter all those years ago. May and Coulson took Lola to the streets, they were able to find the place where Lumley was seen and just had wait. Coulson thought he might pass through that door, it was worth a shot so for now they would wait. While they were waiting Coulson had been abnormally quiet, usually in these kinds of situations Coulson was the one striking up conversation. But now he was the quiet one and May… she was trying.

"So," she started, "Say you're going to do what this guy did, leave S.H.I.E.L.D. go off the grid, what's your move?" When Coulson didn't answer, May kept talking, "I'd hide in the wheel well A 747 flight from Newark to Singapore. Oxygen, a chute. Back half of the trip passes over 3,000 miles of land. A dozen countries, could drop anywhere."

May stared ahead at the shop, Coulson still didn't say anything which was odd. He was the one who kept recon missions light with conversation while she stayed quiet and listened. It was strange to see how the tables had turned.

May tried again, she needed him to talk, "You'd probably head to South America, you speak Spanish."

"Vacation Spanish," Coulson corrected.

"Lima most likely," May said and although she didn't show it, she was happy he said something, "What with the growing food scene."

"All right what's up," Coulson asked looking at May.

She looked at him, "You tell me."

"You're talking," he stated, "More than ever."

"'Cause you're not," May replied.

"Then you show up with the Skye investigation," Coulson said.

May sighed, "I wanted answers."

"I don't doubt that," Coulson replied, "But there's more to it. You bring it up now, when you could have brought it up at any time on a lazy day. It's for your answers and to distract me?"

May licked her lips, "Yes," she said, "I know you're having a hard time believing what-"

Coulson cut her off, "They changed my memories Melinda, who's to say they didn't change more?"

"I say," May stated, "I know you Phil, and I knew you before. You know I'd be the first to go down that road if I thought it led somewhere." May paused, "Do you believe _me_ at least?"

At first didn't Coulson reply, but after a moment he said, "Yes."

"Good," May said.

Coulson looked back at the shop, "But I'm tired of secrets, I'm glad we're here. You get some answers and we can root out all the secrets."

May had plenty of other secrets, but now wasn't the time to tell him. They found Lumley and needed to get going. May was about to get answers on everything. May chased him down an alleyway and they had a little scuffle. He tried to run, but thanks to Lola he wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm agent Coulson," Coulson told him, "With S.H.I.E.L.D."

Lumley sighed relieved, "Oh thank God. This is about the baby girl isn't it?"

Coulson and May brought him back to the BUS. May was tired of waiting, so they started the questioning as soon as they were inside.

"Cyanide," Coulson asked, "What did you think we were going to do to you?"

Lumley sighed, "What they did to her."

"Agent Linda Avery," Coulson said as Lumley looked over the files.

"She wasn't the first one to die," Lumley explained, "We were headed into the Hunan Province of China. A senior agent called in an 0-8-4."

"An object of unknown origin," Coulson stated, "We've dealt with those before."

"He said the entire village died trying to protect this one," Lumley replied, "Avery and I were fresh out of the academy and there were five us running the back end, until we lost communication with the first team." He paused, "We went searching. We found the senior agent under a bridge. He managed to escape with a gunshot wound to the neck, but he bled out. He was still holding onto the 0-8-4."

May snapped, "What does this have to do with the baby?"

"May," Coulson warned and nodded for Lumley to go on.

He sighed, "The poor thing was covered in blood. We thought she was dead too, turns out she was just asleep in the dead agent's arms."

"The baby," Coulson asked, "The girl was the 0-8-4?"

May felt her heart stop, how was that possible? Had something happened to Skye to make them think she was an 0-8-4 or was she always like that and May never knew? Coulson glanced at May and although her expression was blank, her eyes gave away what she was feeling.

"If she had powers or something, we never witnessed it," Lumley replied, "The five of us helicoptered the kid off and headed home. After we landed, we started getting crossed off."

"Executed," Coulson clarified.

"Tortured, heads bashed in," Lumley said, "And when it came down to Avery and I, we realized the only way to keep our people and the kid from being hunted-"

"Was to her erase from existence," Coulson finished.

"Avery was smart," Lumley said with a sad smile, "She used to lead agents credentials, to fake a level clearance. Set up a nearly invisible protocol. The foster system was ordered, to move the child every few months."

"But they still got to Avery," May pointed out.

"She died protecting that secret," Lumley said.

"And you left town," Coulson said.

Lumley replied, "Oh I left everything. I mean whoever killed that kid's family and all those agents is a force to be reckoned with."

"Do you know anything about the girl's family," Coulson asked.

"No we assumed they were dead along with the rest of the village," Lumley replied.

May drew a short breath, "This girl, the baby you're talking about. That's my daughter. She was taken from me before this incident you're talking about. Is there anything you know about the people in the village or who she was with before the agent found her?"

Lumley shook his head, "No, other than Hunan Province and the fact they're all dead. I'm sorry Agent May, but the only thing I know about the girl is what I've told you."

May nodded, she knew who did this, she knew how it happened, "Thank you," was all she said before leaving the room and going to the cockpit.

May knew exactly who did this. She knew exactly who took Skye in the first place and who had done everything else to the villagers and the agents. However it broke her heart even more to know she had been right the whole time. The village massacre, the province, the people dead and how... It was all his fault. May pressed her back against the door of the cockpit and allowed the tears to fall. It was pointless to hold the tears back, they would fall eventually. She slid down to the floor and rested her chin on her knees.

 _He wouldn't do this._

 _It wasn't his fault, it couldn't have been him._

They were May's words, it was her voice, but now it didn't sound like her at all. How was she supposed to tell Skye this? That after she lost her, she was taken to China where an entire village died to protect her. How was May supposed to tell Skye it was her father that did this? A man she once cared for had killed so many people, the village, the agents and the innocents from before.

"May," Coulson said, "May open the door..."

May buried her face in her hands as a sob escaped her lips. Coulson opened the door to see May crying at his feet. He could only imagine what May was thinking and feeling in that moment. Finding out your daughter had been taken half-way across the world, identified as an 0-8-4, then being hidden by S.H.I.E.L.D... Coulson had no words to offer that would make May feel any better, instead of talking he stayed silent and sat next to her on the floor.

"How am I supposed to tell her," May asked, her voice raspy.

Coulson didn't know, "I could, but that won't stop her from coming to you," Coulson replied.

May whispered, "I know. We tell her what we found, but I can't tell her it was her father who did this. He was once a good man, I don't want to take away from that."

Coulson nodded, "Then don't, but you know Skye. One day she'll learn the truth."

"Which is why I want her to hear about the other part from me," May replied, "After I've told her some good things about him."

"Okay," Coulson said, "Do you want to be alone?"

May didn't trust herself to speak, instead shook her head in response. In the silence, Coulson sat next to May while she tried to sort this out in her mind. Coulson wrapped an arm around May's shoulder's and to his surprise she rested her head down on his shoulder taking deep and even breaths. What was she supposed to do now?

* * *

 **Teaser**

"I'm counting on that."

"Must run in the family I guess."

"I've been keeping something from you."

"Is Skye okay?"

"It was the summer of 1986…"


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: I love you all, just thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Okay in this chapter there is an important item, but I don't think my description gave it justice, so if you want to see what it looks like you can look up Antique Edwardian Crescent Moon and Star Locket. (On google images it's the first one on the left). Oh! Next chapter we get a look at May's back story, *whoop whoop***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

Once May and Coulson returned, the team was able to tell them what was going on in more detail than the message they sent earlier. Ward was working with Agent Weaver trying to find the missing cadets while Skye and Fitz-Simmons were at the BUS. From their they could do some digging and figure out what was going on. They discovered Ian Quinn had been buying their products.

Skye was able to trace the rare parts back the cadets had used and found Ian behind it all. Skye almost immediately noticed the tension Coulson and May were giving off, but she didn't have a chance to ask what was wrong, especially since it seemed they were avoiding her. Not to mention everyone's attention was on the mission. Once they had a game plan, Skye was going to confront Coulson and May since neither of them had really said much to her. After Fitz-Simmons left the command center, Skye took a chance.

"What's up with you guys," Skye asked, "Ever since you got back from who knows where, you won't even look at me. And I know things have been heavy right now, but did I do something wrong?"

Coulson shook his head, "No."

"I did," May said still not looking at Skye, "I've been keeping something from you."

"What are you talking about," Skye asked her mom, clearly confused.

"Your mom and I went down to Mexico City to talk to somebody, somebody who knows where you came from," Coulson replied and looked at May.

"We found out what happened, with the document and the agent who left you at the orphanage," May said looking at Skye for the first time since they arrived.

"Tell me," Skye said softly, "Please."

May took a deep breath, "The woman who dropped you off was agent Avery. The agent we talked to was Avery's partner, Richard Lumley. Their team got a call from a senior agent in the Hunan Province..."

May told Skye everything she and Coulson had learned from the massacre of the village to the 0-8-4 status. As the story went on, tears began to swim in Skye's eyes until they fell down her cheeks. May left the part about knowing who was behind the massacres out, especially when she saw the tears fall down her face. Skye covered her mouth as a sob threatened to escape her lips. She never expected this to be the story she had been looking for.

"I'm so sorry Skye," May said when she was done.

This was her fault, all those agents, the villagers, losing Skye. All of it, everything that had happened was on her hands. Skye didn't say anything, instead she let the tears fall trying to wrap her head around what happened. May wrapped her arms around Skye's shaking shoulders and Skye wrapped her arms around May's waist trying to hold back the sobs in her throat.

Fitz-Simmons said over the comms something big was happening on campus. They needed to move. May didn't want to leave Skye, she thought about taking Skye with her to the cockpit, but before she could suggest it Skye took off.

"I'll watch her," Coulson said and followed Skye.

May went to the cockpit to pilot the plane they were in for a bumpy ride. After the dilemma with Donnie and the ice storm was dealt with, Skye and May took a walk around campus together. It was a mostly silent walk, but neither of them minded. The only thing that mattered was that they were still together. After everything that had happened over the years, they were together again.

The truth shattered Skye's world, but she was okay with that because all the years of thinking she never had a family when in reality she always had one. One that had been looking for her while the other had been looking out for her. May and Skye visited the wall of valor and Skye instantly found Agent L. Avery and traced over the letters. May held onto Skye's free hand tightly, Skye gripped it back.

"Mom," Skye whispered, "I love you, I hope you know that."

May always felt her heart flutter when Skye called her mom, but this time was different. This time it made her joy double. May loved her so much that it hurt. Hearing Skye say she loved her too made May so happy.

"I love you so much," May said softly, she looked at her daughter, "I promise you Skye, no matter what I always have and I always will love you and be there for you."

Skye looked away from the wall and smiled at her mom, "I'm counting on that."

May smiled happily at her daughter, they would both be able to move forward and be happy.

* * *

Skye woke up early the next morning, she had just finished stretching when May came down for their usual Tai Chi session. Instead of her usual joking and tired mood, Skye was focused and quiet. Throughout the session, May would help Skye with her stance and movements and Skye would fix them after a try or two. When the other's came down, May went up to do some other work while Skye trained with Ward.

She was silent and incredibly focused. Ward was surprised, even Fitz-Simmons were shocked when they hadn't heard Skye complain or crack one of her quips. They knew May and Coulson had told Skye something, but they didn't know what it was. All they knew now was that Skye had taken it hard. As soon as training was over, Skye went up to her bunk and began to look for Quinn. She wanted to find this guy and take him down as quickly as possible.

All afternoon, Skye stayed in her bunk making all kinds of programs to help with her search for Quinn. Hopefully they would lead to something. The next few days Skye did the same thing, Tai Chi with May, training with Ward and hiding in her bunk doing work.

"Is Skye okay," Ward asked.

He and Fitz-Simmons were in the kitchen grabbing some lunch. Coulson was in his office, May was with Skye in her bunk helping to look for any sign of Quinn. So far no luck.

Simmons shrugged, "I'm not sure, I asked her about it and she said she was fine. That she just wanted to find Quinn and catch him."

"It's got to be more than that," Fitz said making himself a sandwich.

Ward nodded, "I agree. In practice, she's quiet, driven. I don't know what Coulson and May told her, but whatever it was... it had quite the effect."

Simmons sighed, "I hope she's okay. Maybe we should do something for her."

"Like what Simmons," Fitz asked, "We don't even know what's wrong."

"Maybe not, but we should do something nice for her," Simmons said.

Ward hummed it over, "It's not a bad idea, we could do something to cheer her up."

"Cheer who up," May asked as she walked in.

Simmons smiled, "Excellent timing Agent May."

"We want to do something for Skye," Fitz explained, "We know she's been kind of down lately and we want to cheer her up."

May had noticed a shift in Skye's mood. Skye was more distant and focused on the task at hand instead of her usual sporadic way of doing things. It wasn't completely noticeable, Skye would still crack a few jokes when she was around the others. However she was still a little distant. May asked Skye about it and she talked to May about what was going on with her. How she wanted, no how she needed to find Quinn and stop him before he hurt anyone else. Not to long ago she had been helping or really trying to help Skye search in her bunk.

 _I just want to find this guy and end this. I can't focus on anything else until he's captured._

"What are you planning," May asked the younger agents.

Ward pursed his lips, "That's the thing, we have no idea what to do for her."

"Maybe we could get her a pet," Fitz suggested.

"We cannot bring an animal onto this plane," Ward told the scientists.

Fitz raised his arms in surrender, "It was just a suggestion. Animals, kittens and puppies specifically, make most people more relaxed and happier."

"We are not getting her a pet," Simmons stated, "However maybe we could get her something nice. A present from all of us?"

"What would you get her," May asked liking the idea.

Simmons shrugged, "I'm not sure, but I have a few ideas."

The four of them spent the next half hour talking about things they could do to cheer Skye up. After much deliberation they found the perfect gift for Skye and decided tomorrow night they would cheer Skye up. Fitz-Simmons returned to the lab to draw up some blueprints for what they wanted to build while Ward went to get the supplies. The BUS had stopped to get refueled, but they would end up staying until the next day.

May went to her bunk and pulled out an old brown box with the word 'memories' engraved in Mandarin on the top. She opened the box and searched through its compartments and other items looking for something specific. Something she had been waiting to give Skye for years. It was a small black velvet box and inside was something May had cherished for years. Before she would wear it everyday, but after she lost Skye, she kept it in a safe place. This way she would never lose it. At ten in the evening, May went to Skye's bunk the box in her hand.

"Skye," May called softly.

Skye focused on her laptop and said, "Yeah, I'm in here. You can come in."

"Am I interrupting," May asked as she opened Skye's door.

The young woman shook her head, "Nope, I was about to close up shop anyway. What's up?"

May closed Skye's door behind her and said, "There is something I wanted to give you."

Skye's eyes lit up, "Really," she asked curiously, "What is it?"

May took a seat on Skye's bed and held the small box out to Skye, "This is something your father had given me, before you were born."

Skye didn't know anything about her father except something must have happened to him. When Skye first brought it up, she could tell her mom was tense and uncomfortable about the topic. So she dropped it and planned to ask on a different day, or when her mom was ready. Skye took the box from her mom and opened it to see a necklace.

Resting on the white plush inside the box was a gold locket, it's coating slightly worn down with age with a moon and star on it. Closer to the center was a grey crystal with five thin prongs and five thick ones to resemble a star. Closer to the edge of the locket was a crescent moon with six grey crystals resembling the one in the center. Skye let her index and middle fingers hover over the moon when she noticed one crystal was missing.

May said, "Your father had given it to me about two weeks before I found out I was pregnant."

Skye swallowed thickly and said, "It's really pretty. Was there a reason he chose it?"

May chuckled, "He had a fascination with the stars and the moon... he loved the sky."

Skye breathed a laugh, "Must run in the family I guess."

May grinned, "Yeah, it does- Skye, do you want to know about him? If you do, all you have to do is say so."

Skye did want to know, but she was worried about her mom, "You don't have to tell me if it's too hard."

"I can handle it," May said, "You deserve to know who your father was."

"Did you love him," Skye asked bringing her gaze away from the necklace, "Did you two love each other?"

May smiled softly, "I'm not sure... I did love him, but I don't think I was ever in love with him. It was the same for him to, we loved each other, but we weren't in love."

Skye looked back at the locket and lifted it from the box and let it rest in the palm of her hand. Carefully she opened the locket to see what was inside. There were two pictures. On the left was a picture of a baby sleeping, Skye assumed it was her consider she could see on the hat she was wearing said 'Daisy.' On the right, a picture of May, Coulson which was not surprising to Skye and a man she didn't know.

It was her father. He had brown hair and eyes and light tan skin. She gasped slightly, this was the first time she had ever seen him.

"He was always smiling," May said sadly, "Your father was a such a dork who always found a way to make people happy."

"Can I ask," Skye started slowly, "How you guys met and what happened between you two?"

May nodded, "It was the summer of 1986…"

* * *

 **Penny for your thoughts? *Holds a bag of pennies***

 **Teaser**

"You, Phillip goody two shoes Coulson are giving me permission to break protocol?"

"Did you guys ever meet up?"

"No, it's no trouble. I insist you let me buy your tea."

"Your father was a good man Skye."


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Warning: Chapter transitions a lot between past and present. There is talk of drinking and sex, don't worry nothing descriptive or anything like that. Only mentioned. Just so you guys know.**

 **Also a Happy Fourth to the Americans out there!**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

 **June 18th, 1986**

 **Location: Madrid, Spain.**

Melinda May walked through the busy streets of Spain, she wore a fitted navy blue shirt, blue jeans and black boots. For the past week she had been in Spain on a mission, right now she was waiting for her partners to tell her how their part of the plan was going. Thus far she had yet to hear anything from her colleague's, but she wasn't worried. After all they had a signal if anything went wrong, not to mention they were only a few blocks away.

Melinda was the back up, the last resort if things went south. She walked into one of those cafe's with computers. There she could wait for Phil to contact her with the information they needed. Melinda had been an agent for years and although the work was tedious, she enjoyed her job as an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. not to mention all the people she had come to know over the years.

"Hola," the cashier greeted, "Qué puedo traerte?"

(Hello, What can I get for you?)

Melinda smiled, "Hola senor, puedo tomar el té negro por favor?"

(Hello sir, can I have black tea please)

May could speak three languages, four if she counted english, but she usually didn't since it was a given. The cashier nodded, "Tres euros." (Three euros) Melinda reached into her purse to get the currency, when a man slid three euros onto the counter. The man was tall with light brown hair and chestnut brown eyes.

He smiled at Melinda and said, "Allow me.. Oh wait… lo siento. Me permitita."

(I'm sorry, allow me)

Melinda chuckled, "It's alright I speak english and you don't have to pay for me."

The man smiled nervously, "No, it's no trouble. I insist you let me buy your tea."

"Okay," Melinda replied, "Since you insist."

The man gave the money to the cashier, told him thank you and walked to the end of the counter with Melinda.

"The name's Calvin, most people call me Cal," the man, Calvin, said with his hand extended to Melinda.

She grinned pleasantly and shook his hand, "Melinda, it's nice to meet you Cal. Thank you for buying my tea."

Calvin shrugged, "No problem. I just thought I'd buy a drink for a beautiful woman… I said that out loud didn't I?"

Melinda smiled, "Thank you again, for the compliment and the tea. I see you have tea as well."

"Oh yes," Calvin nodded, "I'm not a big fan of coffee. Yet I come to a coffee shop."

Melinda smiled, "I understand what you mean. I've always been more of a tea kind of girl."

* * *

"Wait," Skye interrupted, "You and my dad met in Spain at a coffee shop and both of you ordered tea? You two were weird."

May chuckled, "Yes we were. Neither of us were fond of coffee, we shared a lot of the same interest."

Skye rested her chin in her hands and smiled, "Like what?"

"If you don't interrupt, you'll find out," May pointed out receiving an eye roll from Skye.

* * *

Melinda and Calvin spent the next hour talking their interests, dislikes and likes and anything else that came to mind. Conversation flowed so easily between the two of them, Melinda was sure she could sit and talk to him all day. She would come up with a quip to get him smiling while he would make her laugh. However it was short lived, Melinda got word from Phil their suspect was on the move and they needed to get moving if they wanted to catch him.

"I have to go," she said sadly, "But thank you again for the tea and sitting with me. I had a good time."

Calvin nodded, "I had a good time to, perhaps we could do this again sometime?"

"I would love to, but I won't be in town for much longer," Melinda replied gently.

Cal frowned, but had an idea, "I'll email you."

Before Melinda could stop him, he pulled out a pen and grabbed a napkin. He wrote his email address and gave it to her. Against her better judgement, Melinda took the napkin and left to go catch up with Phil and try to catch their suspect. That night, Melinda and Phil were on a private jet heading back to the states, specifically S.H.I.E.L.D. head quarters with their suspect in the cargo hold.

Melinda was sitting near a window staring at the napkin with an email address and phone number written on it. Ever since the cafe she couldn't stop thinking about the guy, Calvin or Cal as he prefered. His brown eyes and goofy smile made Melinda smile and blush slightly. The way he made her laugh and how it was so easy to talk to him made her want to email him right then and there. However that wasn't a possibility.

Just having this piece of paper was wrong. When she signed up to join S.H.I.E.L.D. she gave up all and any chances to be with someone. In order to be an efficient agent, focused and unrestricted, she couldn't have any attachments to the world outside. Of course if she had family, which she did, they could know, but meeting new people on missions or outings was out of the question. It was for their safety, for everyone's safety.

"What's that," Phil asked taking the seat next to Melinda.

She put the napkin away and said, "Just some guys contact information."

"Just some guy," Coulson asked with a cheeky grin, "You've been staring at that napkin for ages. I don't think it was just some guy."

Melinda rolled her eyes, "He was. He was just a guy I met at the cafe and I had been debating whether or not to make contact. I know protocol and... I was just thinking it through."

Phil shook his head, "You know the rules, however you've never been one to follow them."

Melinda shoved him playfully, "Not true. I follow the rules. Most of the time anyway."

Phil scoffed, "Most of the time? Give him a call, or send him a message. Whatever form of communication he gave you."

Melinda raised an eyebrow, "You, Phillip goody two shoes Coulson are giving me permission to break protocol? Are you feeling okay?"

"Haha very funny," Phil replied, "Just send him a message. I don't see the harm in that."

Melinda looked at the napkin again, she bit her bottom lip, "You sure?"

Phil nodded, "If it becomes a problem you'll handle it. You're smart, I'm confident you'll do what's best. Now I believe Romeo is waiting for you Juliet."

Melinda scoffed, but didn't say anything else. Phil got up and went to go check on the cargo while Melinda decided she would send this guy a message. It would only a message or two, what was the harm in that?

* * *

"For the next two- three months, Cal and I emailed each other," May said with a nostalgic smile, "Every Monday morning and every Thursday night."

Skye laughed, "Why those days? Surely there must have been a reason."

"We chose at random, however by October we were emailing every other day," May replied.

"You guys were pretty close," Skye asked

May thought for a moment before answering, "Close, but not to the point of I'd call him a lover or a best friend."

"Did you guys ever meet up," Skye asked curiously.

"I didn't see him again until New Year's Eve, it wasn't a date really," May explained thinking back to that night, "He told me he was going to New York to watch the ball drop and asked me to meet him around the block. We met at 11:56 and he gave me a bouquet of daisies. There's part of your namesake."

May hadn't thought about her time with Cal in years. Of course every now and again the memory of what he did to her would go through her mind, but the good times they shared never came up. After everything he had done, it was as if the good she once saw in him didn't matter. However seeing Skye, telling her about this reminded herself that he was once a good and caring man.

"How many times did you guys meet," Skye asked after a few moments of silence.

May sighed, "We met a total of five times, once in Spain when we first met. The second time was in New York, the third time was at a S.H.I.E.L.D. location, the fourth time was at a safe house and the fifth time was near the Hunan Province."

"He was a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. too," Skye asked surprised.

"Not in the way I am, he wasn't an agent. He came onto S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar in the spring of '87," May explained, "Some people were after him and he was put under our protection. That April I saw him again, we got to catch up."

May took a shaky breath, "The next few months we had minimal contact, since he could only have a certain amount. He had someone out there, who he needed to stay in touch with so I made sure they two of them could talk... It was rough, but despite the situation, he made it better." May gave Skye a knowing grin, "Sound familiar? It was November 1st that I saw him again at a safe house. Me and two other agents were guarding him, that whole day I didn't talk to him. I tried to do it again the next day, but he wouldn't have that…"

* * *

Melinda was standing outside the safe house in front of the door, her hands clasped behind her back and eyes trained ahead. She couldn't believe the mess she was in. How out of all the people in the world did she met one on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar? How was it she had met someone who was involved in something crazy and now under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watch? Lately it seemed every part of her life found it's way back to this organization.

"Psst," she heard Cal behind her, "Psst, Melinda. I know you can hear me even when I talk this low."

Melinda smirked, "You aren't talking low at all."

Cal laughed, "At last she talks… Melinda you've been here since yesterday and won't even look at me. Melinda, please turn around."

Melinda looked back at the man inside. He was looking at her through the circular window of the door with his usual gentle and giddy grin.

"It's Agent May," Melinda told him and turned back around.

"Alright," Cal replied, "Agent May, will you please look at me for more than two seconds."

Reluctantly Melinda turned around to face him, "Why? What will me looking at you accomplish?"

"That you don't see me as a monster," Cal whispered to her sadly.

Melinda swallowed, "Why would I see you as monster? You're a doctor and a scientist with some bad people on your tail. I'm here to do a job and make sure they don't get you."

"What else did I do," Cal asked softly.

"Excuse me," Melinda asked.

Cal sighed, "Ever since you got here, you won't talk to me or look at me. If it's about why I'm here or why those guys are after me I can explain. I just… I need to know what else I did."

Melinda frowned, "You didn't do anything, you know what happens tomorrow. You and I will never speak again. I think you'll be able to talk to J, but I don't know."

Cal offered her a gentle smile, "If we never get to see each other again after today, shouldn't we make the most of the time we have left. The door's unlocked, I have some wine, some games…"

Melinda thought about it for a moment before looking into his soft brown eyes. She smiled gently, "Okay, what wine do you have?"

* * *

Skye grinned cheekily, "Good to know I came from a drunken night."

"It was not a drunken night," May retorted, "Yes we did have a little too much to drink, but-"

May stopped talking when she saw the look Skye was giving her. Skye could not believe Agent May, her mom and completely responsible woman got drunk and did _it._ The idea just made Skye laugh.

May frowned, "Sorry if it wasn't what you were hoping for."

"Hey the story's not over yet," Skye replied, "And I'm curious to see what happens next."

May said, "Well the next morning, things were a little... interesting."

* * *

"Something's wrong," Melinda said worriedly.

She was wearing one of Cal's t-shirts and her own dark jeans. The other two agents she had been working with weren't responding over the comms, but she didn't want to call out to them. Besides her head ached and she didn't want to yell.

Cal put on his shirt and followed Melinda to the door and whispered, "What do you think is going on?"

Melinda looked back at him, "I don't know. Let's just hope it's bad communication."

Melinda grabbed her gun from off the floor and slipped out of the room and entered the empty living room. Her gun was raised as she surveyed the area to find it clear. However as soon as she began to lower her gun, gun shots from all over echoed in her ears. Cal shoved her to the ground as the windows shattered and the sound of guns being fired continued.

"Release the Doctor," a voice said from outside.

Cal looked at Melinda and said, "Let me go, they won't hurt you if I go."

Melinda shook her head, "Absolutely not-" Melinda was cut off by the door being forcibly opened and about ten men charging in.

Cal and Melinda stood up and stared at the men circling around them. They were trapped.

"I'll go with you," Cal said, "Just leave her out of this."

One of the men smirked, "You're coming either way, grab them."

The men moved forward, but Cal and Melinda fought hard until one gun shot went off and pierced her side.

* * *

"They shot you," Skye said shocked.

May nodded, "Yes, but it was a scratch. What happened after I was shot is still fuzzy, but I remember him wrapping my side and being taken onto a plane with him. The next thing I know I wake up in a sterile room on a small bed with him on the floor watching me. He told me I had been unconscious for days, he thought I wasn't going to wake up."

May remembered very well what happened to the two of them while they were held hostage. The next few days they were locked in that room together, only contact they made with someone from outside was when they were given food. Cal didn't eat much, he wanted to make sure May had enough to eat.

"Why did they take you two, what did they want," Skye asked softly.

May sighed, "Your father was a very talented doctor and biochemist. From what I could gather they wanted him to work on these serums. I never knew for what or why, but it had something to do with that silver statue."

"Silver statue," Skye questioned and May nodded.

"I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was important to those people. I didn't see it until two maybe three weeks after I had woken up in the cell," May explained, "The next time I saw it, the guards brought me into an interrogation room of sorts. I sat at the table and in front of me was the silver object with a whole bunch of weird symbols on it. The guy sitting across from me told me to pick it up. I knew I shouldn't have, but I had a feeling one way or another I would hold that object."

May took a deep breath, "I picked up the object and when I did… the symbols began to glow and I felt strange. Tingly even. The guy across from me said in Russian, I was one of the firsts. I didn't know what it meant and I will probably never know. However once I set it down, your father came in, pounced on the men and killed them all." May paused, this was the worst part about the story.

Seeing him in that state, seeing how he had changed over the past few weeks broke her heart. The smile he used to wear was gone. The light in his eyes was dim. It was like the guy she knew had vanished.

"He was different, changed," May said sadly, "That last week, I saw him sneak some chemicals into our cell. He told me this would save us, but I wasn't so sure. The day they had me touch that statue, he injected himself with those chemicals and he... lost it... He lead me through the underground lab and we fought anyone who got in our way. However once we made it to the top..."

May swallowed remembering the day, "I got outside and I turned back to see he locked himself inside. He told me in these words. 'You have to go. I made a promise to someone we both care about I would protect you with my life. That's exactly what I'm going to do. Get out of here and don't look back.' I tried to get the door unlocked and tell him we could both make it, that we would be okay. However as soon as he backed away from that door, the bombs went off and I was thrown back. I'm not sure how much time had passed, but S.H.I.E.L.D. came. Coulson was the first person I saw and he took me to a medical facility. There I found out I was pregnant and that was it."

"Wow," Skye whispered, "That's a story alright."

"Your father was a good man Skye, he died that day for us," May said firmly, it was partially true. The guy he used to be died that day.

"I'm sorry, that all must have been… really overwhelming," Skye replied, "Thank you for telling me all that."

May smiled softly, "You deserved to know and it was worth it, in the end I did get something good out of it. Something I would never trade for anything."

Skye smiled at that and said, "Thanks mom and I really like this locket. I also love how Coulson is in there."

"Don't get any ideas," May told her.

Skye chuckled, "Okay whatever you say, but can you put the necklace on me? It will take me forever if I do it myself."

"Sure," May smiled.

Skye turned around, pulled her hair back as May put her necklace on. Once it was secure Skye put her laptop away and laid down. May stood at Skye's door and stared at Skye for a moment.

"Goodnight Skye," May said.

Skye grinned and closed her eyes, "Goodnight mom."

May felt her heart soar, hearing Skye call her mom always made her extremely happy. May turned to leave, but she took a chance and did something she hadn't done in over twenty years. May walked over to the side of Skye's bed bent down and she pressed her lips onto Skye's forehead.

"I love you," May whispered.

Skye wrapped her arms around May before she could move away. May returned the hug with a watery smile and tears swimming in her eyes. It really was a good night.

* * *

 **See you guys for posting tomorrow!**

 **Teaser**

"Yes actually, you and I are going on a trip."

"Wait there's more."

"Ready when you are Tin Man."

"You.. haven't seen.. me-"


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: Okay so volleyball went a little later than I thought it would which is why I didn't post yesterday. I have Summer League this week and it takes up most of my day, so I won't be able to post until Friday. Sorry guys :'(**

 **This chapter is a fun chapter before things get crazy. Next chapter is when we get to part 1 of T.R.A.C.K.S. *dun dun DUN***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen**

 **(Two Days Later)**

After Skye finished Tai Chi with May, she had training with Ward, but he didn't come down at his usual time. Skye found it strange considering he was all about punctuality. Once he threatened her to do ten push ups for every minute she was late. Thanks  
to her sessions with May, that wouldn't be issue anymore. Skye toweled herself off and went upstairs looking for Ward. She found him by his bunk packing a small bag.

"Going somewhere," Skye asked curiously.

Ward turned around and replied, "Yes actually, you and I are going on a trip."

Skye raised her eyebrows, "We are?"

"Yes," Ward said, "We've practiced handling guns, but you haven't gotten the whole experience. There's a shooting range half an hour from here and I'm taking you there. I already worked it out with Coulson, we're all set."

A smile spread on Skye's face, "Sweet, I'll go get some less sweaty clothes."

Ward grinned and watched Skye head back to her bunk. Skye had never been to a shooting range before and she had to admit she was kind of excited. Even though guns still made her a little uncomfortable, Ward assured her it was fine to feel that way. He  
said he would be worried if she was already comfortable with them. Quickly Skye changed into her blue jeans, white t-shirt and blue jean jacket with grey sleeves.

Skye was zipping her boots when May asked, "Where are you headed?"

Skye looked up, "Ward is taking me to a shooting range. Says I haven't had the full experience of handling a gun. So we're taking a field trip."

May nodded, "Should be good, try not to shoot anyone."

"Very funny," Skye scoffed grabbing her phone, "See you later."

May grinned, "See you then."

Ward was waiting by the stairs wearing blue jeans and a grey t-shirt with his small bag in hand. He'd been waiting to take Skye to a shooting range and help her with handling a gun since they couldn't really get much practice in the cargo hold. Not to  
mention it was the perfect way to get Skye away from the BUS while Fitz-Simmons finished their work on Skye's present.

"Ready when you are Tin Man," Skye teased as she walked past Ward.

Ward shook his head and followed Skye to the black car beside Lola. It would be a fun day. The drive there was relatively quick, Skye and Ward talked and listened to the radio. Skye did most of the talking, but Ward was happy to listen to her. It was  
quiet now, Skye was looking out her window staring at the passing trees.

Ward glanced over to look at Skye and realized this was the first time the two of them had ever been 100% alone and away from the team. For some reason the thought made Ward nervous, but he didn't show it. It was Skye after all. Once they arrived, Skye  
all but jumped out of the car.

"Easy there tiger," Ward teased as they walked inside.

Skye rolled her eyes and followed Ward inside. Since Ward had called ahead, they got to go to their own private shooting area, one target, two guns, two goggles and earmuffs.

"Alright," Ward said grabbing goggles and earmuffs, "Let's get this started. We only have two hours, but that should be enough time to at least get you started and more familiar with handling one."

Skye nodded, she grabbed her own goggles and earmuff. They put the goggles on, but left the earmuffs around their necks. Ward handed Skye a gun before taking his own off of the table. Skye took the gun hesitantly, her earlier excitement gone and replaced  
with anxiety and tentativeness.

"What happened to all your energy," Ward asked.

Skye shrugged, but still didn't talk.

"Are you alright," Ward asked concerned.

Skye spoke for the first time since they arrived, "I'm fine.. come on, show me what to do first."

Ward wanted to press Skye to see what was bothering her, but decided not to ask. Instead he distracted from that and they got started. Skye had a few issues at first, but as time went on she became better shot and her anxiety from earlier seemed to vanish.  
It didn't take long for Skye's smile and jokes to return which made Ward happy. He could listen to her talk all day.

When their session was over, Ward asked, "What was that about? One minute you were excited and the next you looked like you didn't want to be in there. Then you were all happy again."

Skye sighed, "I know, it.. it just reminded me of a bad foster parent is all."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Ward told her.

He understood what it was like having a darker past and not wanting to explain it to others. Skye hadn't really talked about her past much, sure she had told May a few things, good and bad, but not with anyone else. Not Coulson, Fitz-Simmons or Ward.

"It's okay," Skye said softly, "It's just, he had a lot of guns. Even fired one in the house to scare a kid there. He went to the range often so… I guess I just thought about him. Maybe some time I'll tell you more about, but for now I'm hungry. Pizza  
sound good?"

Ward knew she was trying to deviate from the topic, but nodded, "Sure. There's one not far from here."

Skye was glad he didn't push her on the topic, it wasn't something she was ready to talk about with anyone other than her mom just yet. They ordered their pizza, joked around and had an all around good time. Even Ward had to admit, going to the range  
and eating lunch with Skye was fun. It made him wonder had they met in a different universe, without being agents if they could have this. Just them while the rest of the world faded away.

The drive back to the BUS was filled with laughs. Skye constantly cracking jokes and Ward made plenty of puns to make her smile. Ward drove up to the end of the BUS where they were greeted by Fitz-Simmons both with eager faces and wide smiles.

"Hey, how was the shooting range," Fitz asked.

"Good, even got Ward to get me pizza," Skye grinned then asked, "What's got you two so happy?"

"What ever do you mean," SImmons asked stressing each word, she winced and Fitz just stared at her.

Skye raised her eyebrows, "Simmons… what are you guys hiding?"

Ward sighed before calling, "Coulson, you're on!"

The ramp to the cargo hold lowered and when Skye saw what was inside she couldn't help, but squeal. It was her van. Her actual blue van was parked next to Lola. Skye ran over to it and stared in awe. The paint was re-done, still her same skye blue, but  
it looked fresh. Skye walked around it in complete shock. On the other side it said spray painted in cloud letters, _To Skye, the best hacker and friend we could ask for. Love your team, Leo, Jemma, Grant, Phil and Melinda._

"You guys did this for me," Skye said as she walked back to the front.

"Yep," Simmons smiled brightly.

"We thought you would like it," Fitz said.

Ward added, "You're two homes in one place for a little while anyway."

Skye grinned happily, she had really missed her van, "Thank you guys."

"Wait there's more," Fitz said as he opened the side door.

"We added some things," Simmons explained, "We were able to re-decorate the inside, added some lights to your wall, improved your wifi and gave you a mini fridge."

"Do you like it," Fitz asked nervously.

"Like it," Skye said, "I love it, but you didn't have to do this for me."

Ward was next to speak, "We wanted to. We know things haven't been easy these past couple days, for you especially it would seem. Besides, after all that's happened, we were in need of a distraction and you were in need of some cheering up."

Skye smiled cheekily at them, "Thank you. This.. it means a lot to me."

Skye hugged Simmons and Fitz and motioned for Ward to join them. He did after a moment of hesitation, but now he to was hugging the hacker and scientists happily. This was one of nicest things anyone has ever done for her. Slowly, but surely Skye was  
starting to feel at home with these guys. As if they were one big happy family. Coulson was the dad, May was the mom, Ward was the uncle or cousin while Fitz-Simmons were the big siblings and Skye was the baby.

After their hug ended Fitz said, "Well what are we waiting for, there's more stuff for you to see."

So for the next two hours, Skye, Fitz-Simmons and Ward acted like regular young adults for a change. They were talking, laughing, playing games, singing songs and even had a little to drink. For the first time in ages they could act like nothing was wrong,  
they could just let loose. They even took a drive in her van speeding down the road and back listening to incredibly loud music. May was sitting upstairs at the bar when Skye came rushing in out of breath.

May looked at her curiously and before she could ask, Skye panted, "You.. haven't seen.. me-"

"Skye," they heard Ward shout.

Skye took off before May could say anything and a few moments later, Ward was by May's side out of breath. He had whipped cream on the left side of his face and he looked mad, but in a playful way.

"Have you seen Skye," Ward asked.

May nodded, "What happened to you're face?"

Ward sighed, "Skye. She opened her mouth, told Fitz-Simmons I'm slightly ticklish around my neck and they won't stop trying to tickle me. I knew where Skye was ticklish and went in, but she sprayed me with a can of whipped cream. Now here I am."

May scoffed and pointed in the direction Skye went, "She went that way."

Ward nodded, "Thank you May."

Ward ran in that direction and about ten seconds later, May heard Ward shout, "Got you!" and Skye yell, "Shit!"

Fitz-Simmons appeared, Simmons had been chasing Fitz around knowing where he was ticklish. May could not believe what she was seeing. It was like she was babysitting four rowdy children and in a way she was. However she thought of it more as her daughter  
running around with her friends and she was the one in charge.

"No, Jemma stay away from me," Fitz said as he ran to the kitchen counter.

Simmons smiled from the opposite side, "Not a chance. I haven't had this much fun since we did that research and experiment our senior year-"

"Don't talk about it," Fitz grimaced.

The experiment had been a disaster, they still passed, but Fitz only had disgust for that project. Just then Skye ran out the kitchen with Ward on her heels. He was wet, Skye had sprayed him with the fire extinguisher. Coulson would get her for that.

"I'm going to get you rookie," Ward cried happily.

Skye looked back as she said, "Not gonna happen Ward."

Then Skye ran into Coulson, "Hey Coulson," Skye said then ran, "Bye Coulson."

"Skye," Ward called and went after her.

Fitz-Simmons zoomed past Coulson in the direction Ward and Skye went. Coulson looked at May who was sitting with an amused smirk on her face at the bar. Seeing those kids run around made her happy. It was good for them to act childish every now and again,  
especially after everything that's happened.

"What is going on," Coulson asked as he walked over to May.

May shrugged, "Ward is ticklish, Skye told the others. Skye is ticklish, Ward chased after her and she sprayed him with whipped cream and now he's chasing after her and I assume Simmons was chasing Fitz because he is ticklish. Basically everyone is ticklish."

Coulson nodded then smirked, "You know I remember I certain Agent who despite her calm demeanor was incredibly ticklish."

"I got rid of that years ago," May said knowing he was talking about her.

Coulson took a step closer to May, "I'm not sure she did."

May stared, "Phil, don't you-"

Coulson launched himself at her, but she moved out of the way. Coulson smirked, he proved his theory that if May moved it meant she was still ticklish. Had she stayed in place, Coulson would have believer her lie, but alas. Quickly May took off, but Coulson  
wasn't going to let her get off that easy.

Meanwhile, it took an hour for the tickling war to end. After Ward had tickled Skye, Fitz tickled Ward while Skye went for Simmons and then it became a big game of tag. For an hour Fitz-Simmons, Ward and Skye ran around after each other outside laughing.  
When they came back inside the BUS, they were hot, sweaty and tired. Out of breath they sat down on the couch and chairs.

"That…. was fun," Skye breathed out with a smile.

Simmons nodded, "Who knew such a childish endeavor could make one so happy."

"Well any form of exercise releases a chemical reaction in the brain that-" Fitz was cut off by Ward.

"No science," Ward said, "How about we just watch a movie?"

"Good idea," Simmons said, "But I'm going to change first into something more comfortable."

"Same," Skye said.

Fitz nodded, "Here how about we all change, grab some movies and set up the floor to be like a big picnic blanket? It'll be like one of those outdoor movies, but indoors."

"I like it," Skye said, Ward and Simmons agreed.

It was settled, they dispersed to their bunks, changed into their pajamas and brought all their blankets and pillows. Ward and Fitz set up the space, Simmons was making popcorn while Skye was fixing the TV set. Their DVD player could hold six DVD's at  
once, they just had to hit select disc one and it would that one.

The six movies that were inside were Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Bridesmaids, Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest, Twilight, The Hunger Games and Silver Lining's Playbook. Once the TV was set up, Skye went upstairs looking for some more  
pillows.

"Hey mom," Skye said as she entered the cockpit, "Do you know where anymore pillows are?"

May turned around to look at Skye, "The closet to the right there should be at least five or six in there. Why?"

"Movies," Skye answered, "Fitz-Simmons, Ward and I are going to be spending the next few hours and probably most of the night watching movies. You're welcome to join us, Coulson to."

"I'll pass," Coulson said out of nowhere.

Skye hadn't even seen him in the passenger seat. However when she looked between the two of them, she couldn't help but smile. After seeing Coulson in the locket currently around her neck, she had started to pay more attention to how May and Coulson acted  
with each other. Although she wasn't sure what _it_ was, she knew there was something there.

Skye smiled, "Okay, don't have too much fun up here."

May scoffed, but Coulson grinned, "We'll try."

Skye laughed before turning away. May watched Skye leave and couldn't help, but be happy her girl was happy. Skye had been in a low place for the past few days and May was happy to see Skye smiling again. Coulson told her Skye would be okay and he was  
right, as always, he was right.

Skye grabbed the pillows from the closet, went downstairs where Simmons was waiting with the popcorn. Ward was moving a chair out of the way and Fitz was grabbing some more snacks. Skye set the pillows down, took her seat in the middle next to Simmons  
and they waited for the boys. Ward sat next to Skye and Fitz sat next to Simmons and the movie began.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"I won't lie to you."

"Can anyone read me?"

"No clue."

"You know, we have this stuff for a reason."


	17. Chapter 16: Tracks pt 1

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back from volleyball and onto posting again. However I bring news. Since my schedule is going to get busier I won't have as much time to post or write. Don't worry I'm still keeping up with this story, but just so you guys know my updates are going to be a little more spread out. So I'll be updating every four to five days from now on. This is just so you guys are aware. Alright now on with the show.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen**

After their day of fun, everyone went straight back to work around the clock. Skye looking for answers, Fitz-Simmons doing what they could to help while the others did their own thing. The pattern and routine continued for a while until they had found a hit. Skye, Fitz-Simmons, Ward and May were in the command center working when Coulson walked in.

"Ian Quinn," Coulson said as he entered the room.

May asked, "You found him?"

"No, but we think we know how we can," Coulson replied, "Skye tracked down an invoice from one of his shell companies. He made a big purchase recently."

"10 _million_ dollars big," Skye told them.

"Any idea what it is," asked Simmons.

"No clue," Skye replied, "But it was designed and built by cybertek inc, a small firm that deals in advanced technologies and research."

"Which is where this gets interesting," Coulson says, "They've hired a private security outfit to transport the purchase. Former military, ex-mercs."

"A lot of muscle to move one package," Ward comments.

"And they know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got eyes on Quinn," Skye spoke next, "Which is why they're transporting it old school, on a train through the Italian countryside."

"From Verona to Zagreb, very rural and very isolated," Coulson added.

May asked, "And you think Quinn's on that train?"

"No," Coulson answered, "But I believe they're delivering the item to Quinn himself. we got our intel from Italian authorities who have been monitoring the situation."

"And they don't mind us taking over the op," May questioned.

Coulson grinned slightly recalling the memory of yesterday when he 'asked' to take over this operation, "I asked very nicely. If everything goes as planned, cybertek security team even know we were on the train."

Ward sighed, "So we're going in undercover."

May muttered bitterly, "I hate undercover."

Coulson smirked, "May and Ward, you're front and center. Once we locate the package, you'll tag it with a tracker. Skye and Fitz, you'll be running communications. After the package is tagged, we'll follow it to Quinn. Once we capture Quinn, we'll be one step closer to the Clairvoyant."

Simmons spoke next, "What about the two of us sir?"

"You and I will be on back-end," Coulson replied, "Everyone know what they're doing." Everyone nodded, "Good, now let's get to work."

Fitz-Simmons went down to the lab and grabbed whatever technology they might need. Ward stayed with Coulson to go over some possible scenarios and talk about what to do if certain situations arose. Skye went to her bunk to grab a few things and May followed her.

"You nervous," May asked as she leaned against Skye's bunk door.

The young woman looked at her mother and asked, "Is it that obvious?"

"No," May said, "I can tell because I know your nervous habits, you continuously bite your lip and fidget with your hands."

Skye chuckled sadly, "Those are my habits alright."

May sat down next to Skye. She wanted to tell her everything would work out and they would catch Quinn, but May knew things weren't that simple. Not to mention May was never a fan of false assurance. She couldn't guarantee everything would go smoothly and if she was honest with herself, she was a little nervous about this op too. Undercover missions were the riskiest of all. If one thing went wrong the whole operation could fall apart which was why she hated them.

"Do you think this will work," Skye asked after a brief moment of silence.

Honestly May didn't know, but she replied, "I think it will."

Skye swallowed, "I'm worried something will go wrong," she said, "I can't shake the feeling."

May sighed, "There's always a chance something could go wrong, but I believe in this team. If something happens, we can fix it."

"I hope so," Skye said.

Ever since she found the purchase from Quinn, she had a terrible feeling about this operation. After all that Quinn had done, she was worried this would fall apart. She was afraid. Skye brought her hand to her chest and gripped the locket May had given her a few days ago. It warmed May's heart to see Skye wear it, but that didn't distract from the worry she felt. May could tell Skye was nervous and anxious about this op, but she didn't know how to reassure her. What could she say?

"Hey," May nudged Skye, "I won't lie to you, I don't know what's going to happen once we get out there. I'm not very good at reassurance, but we are a good team. We can handle this, in and out. Simple as that."

Skye took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay, in and out. That simple."

Even though things were never that simple, it was the best May could do. Skye knew things could really complicated really fast, but she trusted her team. She trusted her mom.

May held her hand and said, "My love is strong and close to you. All throughout the day-"

"Heart in hand, always near and will never go away," Skye said smiling gently.

Skye squeezed May's hand and together they said, "And never let go."

* * *

The team arrived on the train discretely, May with Ward, Skye with Fitz and Simmons with Coulson. May would be lying if she wasn't a little worried about the others. Although she knew Skye would be able to defend herself and protect Fitz, she was still worried about her. Skye hadn't been quite herself the past few days, not to mention her anxiety about the mission earlier made May worry more. Of course she didn't let it show, however she had asked Coulson about going with Skye. Coulson told her no, he said it would distract her from the mission. He also assured May that Skye could handle herself, that she would okay.

May and Ward passed Fitz and Skye through one of the carts and for a split second May held Skye's gaze. She knew after one glance Skye was still nervous. Once May and Ward arrived to their 'room' May had to keep telling herself Skye would be fine, but she would be lying if she said Skye's anxiety hadn't rubbed off on her. May needed to find the package while Ward was going to tag it.

Meanwhile Skye and Fitz were sitting in a booth. Despite the little talk Skye had with May, she was still incredibly nervous about the whole thing and wanted it to be over. Fitz felt the same. They set their part of the op into motion, it was quite simple actually. They just needed to get a key and Skye did a pretty good job while Fitz…. he choked up a bit. However it wasn't an issue, Skye got the comms up and running.

Now it was Coulson and Simmons turn to get in on the action. Their target was a man named Carlo and they needed to get to him. Since Simmons was terrible at improv she made an entire backstory to help her make a scene on the train. It worked out rather well in the end, the large jar she was holding was a sort of tracker. One that May was able to follow whilst on top the train. However the comms went down and that was when everything started to fall apart.

Coulson left his seat and went to the back of the train, he needed to make sure they didn't lose the package and miss their chance. Once he made it to the back, Ward was running after him telling him they had been made. The mission was compromised and they needed to go. He just had a run in with cybertek, he tried to warn the others but comms were down.

Ward ran into Simmons and told her to go find Fitz and Skye and hide in the luggage car. Simmons did as he asked and left while Ward went to go find Coulson in the dining car. Ward and Coulson jumped off the train and once they were on solid ground the train vanished, just like that.

"The train it just," Ward gaped.

Coulson nodded, "Yep. Vanished. Which, I might add not easy."

Ward looked back at Coulson worried, "I told Simmons I'd come back for them."

"May's there," Coulson said, "They'll be okay."

Ward looked around and spotted her goggles in the dirt, "No, she's not," he stated and picked them up.

This was bad, something terrible happened.

"Is your phone working," Coulson asked and pulled out his phone.

Ward shook his head, "No, Cybertek must have taken out our electronics."

Coulson looked at the grenade those guys threw at them, "Not a grenade, exactly," he commented examining the object.

"Might be some kind of cloaking mechanism," Coulson suggested.

"Maybe it created some kind of portal, jumped the train there," Ward replied.

Coulson told him, "Oh, let's hope not. I can't deal with Asgard today."

"Cybertek knew we were coming," Ward stated, "How?"

Coulson sighed, "Could have been the Clairvoyant."

Black cars pulled up and they needed to go, "We got to get back to the plane. Come on."

Ward and Coulson found a hot wired truck and headed back to the plan. Once on the BUS, they had been informed by one of the Italian authorizers who was working the back end for this mission. Russo told them the same thing they already knew, Cybertek had been ready for them. They disconnected and waited for Russo to arrive, hopefully he would have some good news. Russo arrived about fifteen minutes later.

"Agent Coulson," he said as he got out of his car, "It's going to be alright, we found your people. The train it's-" he was cut off.

May had thrown a knife and stabbed in the back. Her hair was wet, face bloodied and eyes burning with anger.

"Wheels up in five," she growled glaring at Coulson and Ward.

She definitely had a wonderful time after the comms went down and she was pissed. While on the train, May contacted Ward for him to start the next phase, but comms were down. She tried the comms again, but still received no response and that was when the gun shots went off. As soon as shots were fired, May knew she needed to leave and leave she did.

"Fitz, Skye," she said, "can anyone read me?"

There was no response, her first instinct was they were in some kind of trouble. _Skye. Skye's bad feeling had been right before._ May pushed the thoughts aside, she needed to focus and get back to her team and her daughter who was still on that train. She spotted Ward and Coulson lying in the dirt near the tracks, but they weren't moving. Panic pulsed through May as she ran to Coulson. He couldn't be gone, she told herself over and over until she felt his pulse.

A soft smile formed on her lips. They were just stunned, but they weren't safe there. May needed to get them somewhere safe and find a way back to that train. Half her team was still there, or she thought they were still there. She found a truck and hot wired it only to get caught by Russo.

"We've been looking for you Agent May," he said with a gun pointed at her head.

He knocked her unconscious, tied her up and brought her somewhere else. She was hanging by her hands when he splashed water on her, then called her sweetheart. She was mad.

"I realize you're confused," he told her, "But I'm here to help. You see I make sure Cybertek products move across Italy without incident. They make sure I'm well taken care of. And they'll take care of you too, all you have to do is tell me where Agent Coulson and Ward are."

That wasn't going to happen. May smiled at him and chuckled strangely. She was going to kill him, right then and there she decided his death.

"Why are you smiling," Russo asked curiously.

May smiled deviously and said slightly breathless, "You called me _sweetheart_."

"Fine have it your way," Russo said, knowing May wasn't going to give him what he wanted he grabbed a knife, "Just remember your boss asked to be part of this op. I warned him against it. If you're looking for someone to blame, to look to him."

He stabbed her in the shoulder, she fought against the pain and controlled her reaction. She wouldn't show weakness, instead she smiled.

Through gritted teeth she said, "You gave me just what I needed."

Once he turned around, she pulled herself up, cut herself free and attacked. She fought them all off, but Russo got away. May wasn't going to let him get away with this. Once he was subdued or really dead, May told them what happened. They were sold out and needed to get a move on, the rest of their team was in trouble and one of those members was her daughter. Ward got the plane ready and May got herself cleaned off, for the most part anyway. She needed to stitch up her stab wound, but was having some difficulty when Coulson came in.

"Let me help," he said, he got some more supplies and told her, "You know, we have this stuff for a reason."

May sat on one of the tables while Coulson looked at her wound, "S.H.I.E.L.D. found the train. Turns out it switched tracks shortly after we got off." He put some stuff on her wound and she winced while he continued to talk, "That grenade must have released some kind of toxin. Made us believe no time had passed."

May replied, her voice raspy and heavy, "I saw you guys frozen on the field." A hint of a smile on her face, "You looked ridiculous."

"It wasn't supposed to be a combat op," he told her gently.

"They'll be fine," May said, but she wasn't so sure, "They can handle themselves."

Coulson believed in the other half of his team, but they weren't combat ready. Skye was improving, she could defend herself no doubt, but she wasn't ready. May was so worried about them, but mostly Skye. If something happened to her, May knew she would break.

" _My love is strong and close to you. All throughout the day, heart in hand-" "Always near and will never go away," Skye said smiling gently. Skye held May's hand and together they said, "And never let go."_

The memory was fresh and burned in her mind. She would find Skye, it would be okay.

Coulson pressed the gauze against her wound, "I got it, gently. Okay."

May replied, "Thank you."

This felt like old times to both of them. Getting hurt after a mission and patching the other up. It reminded May she could always count on Coulson to be there. He was always there for her, no matter what.

"Did he get you anywhere else," Coulson asked and May scoffed.

Ward walked in a minute later and said, "We need to reroute the plane. Just got word from S.H.I.E.L.D. that the train stopped suddenly in the Italian countryside."

May and Coulson felt their hearts stop. "What," Coulson said, "Why?"

Ward sighed, "We'll find out soon, I'll set the coordinates. Touch down in ten."

"I'll come help," May said, but Ward stopped her.

"No, rest that shoulder," he told her, "We might need you later."

May took a breath and nodded, he was right. There was no telling now what happened to Fitz-Simmons and Skye. She needed to be ready incase things got worse and she had to fight. Her daughter was out there and she was going to get her back.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"Just take it… Be careful okay?"

"Oh God. You're alive."

"Daisy please."

"Everyone get down!"

"The Cavalry's daughter."


	18. Chapter 17: Tracks pt 2

**A/N: *Squeals uncontrollably* 100 reviews! That's so exciting. 69 favorites and 120 follows! *Squeals again* I love you all, thank you so much for sticking around with this story and wanting to see more. It makes me so happy!**

 **Also I think I may have to change the rating for this story only for language. There isn't any this chapter, but there are a few choice words next chapter and possibly future chapters. Soooo... I don't know yet, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.**

 **And the italics are Skye's memories with each team member. Now here comes trouble, I think you all know what's about to happen... don't kill me *backs away***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen**

Ward, May and Coulson arrived on site, but there was still no sign of Fitz, Simmons or Skye. May was beginning to panic, but she didn't let it show. Coulson noticed a wiping on one of the windows, he thought perhaps it might be a clue. He went on the train followed by Ward and May. The three of them went inside and took a look around, Coulson noticed the bullet holes on the laptop and other equipment Skye and Fitz had used.

Out of nowhere, Simmons jumped up and shouted, "Everyone get down," and fired a night-night gun.

"Simmons stop," Coulson told her.

She stared at him breathlessly and panicked, "What?- Where are Fitz and Skye?"

At those words May thought she was going to lose it. Of course she didn't, but she would have liked to.

 **Earlier (It merges into the present)**

Fitz and Skye were making small talk, however the topic an 0-8-4 came up. May told Skye about her 0-8-4 status days ago, but Skye hadn't asked about it further. She didn't want to, but now she was suddenly curious. The comms went down, Skye had a mini heart attack and Fitz was stunned. The laptop and other equipment he brought froze up then switched off.

"Whoa," Fitz gasped, "May's goggles are offline. When did that happen?"

Skye felt her heart stop, "M, do you copy?" No response, "All comms and phones are dead. Someone's using some sort of electronic scrambler."

"Cybertek knows we're here," Fitz stated.

"We have to warn our team," Skye said and made a move to leave, but someone came in with a gun, "Fitz, get down!"

They both hid behind something. The guy continued to fire, but once he stopped, Fitz fired at him. He missed, but Skye used this to her advantage and attacked. Unfortunately her upper hand didn't last long, the guy knocked her down and attacked Fitz. However Skye got the gun, but he pulled out a grenade.

"We've been made," Simmons yelled as she ran just as the guy pulled out the grenade, "Oh, bloody hell."

"Jemma," Fitz shouted.

Simmons wrapped her arms around the man as the grenade went off and they both fell down.

"Oh my God," Skye said and kneeled beside her to find a pulse, "She's okay."

They moved Simmons so she could be hidden in her unconscious state and they moved the other guy somewhere else. Fitz took a few shots at him to make sure he wouldn't wake up for awhile. The train came to a stop and Cybertek was leaving with the package. Skye looked everywhere, but May, Coulson and Ward were gone. Skye was worried something terrible had happened to them, but she pushed the thought away. Coulson, Ward and her mother would be fine, she knew they would be.

Skye remembered May's words and right now she believed them more than ever. It was up to Fitz and Skye now, they were the only ones left and they needed to follow the package. They got off the train and followed the package to a large house, a mansion really with Cybertek security all over.

Hiding in the bushes, Fitz said, "Coulson was right, Cybertek led us to Quinn."

"Activate the tracker," Skye said, "let them know we're here."

Fitz turned it on and noticed Skye eyeing the package and the guards, "You want to go in," he questioned, but it was really a statement.

Skye told him, "We can't let Quinn get away again. If Coulson were here, he wouldn't let that happen. He wouldn't want us to let that happen."

"You're right," Fitz said and pulled off his bag, "Let's do it."

"Can you disable their cars," Skye asked.

Fitz teased, "With my bare hands." He gave her a night-night gun, "Take this."

Skye just stared at him, "You'll need it out here," she told him.

"You're about to go into a compound with who knows how many guards while I'm hiding in the bushes, I think you need it more," Fitz said with a faint smile, "Just take it… Be careful okay?"

Skye nodded, "You too."

Fitz moved away and Skye stared at the mansion. She had one shot to get in there and she wasn't going to waste it. This was for Coulson, Ward, Fitz, Simmons and her mom. She could do this, she brought her hand to her chest where the locket was and took a deep breath. Now or never. Skye went around the building and tried to find the best way to get in without being seen, first corner she turned saw a guard and fired two shots. The second one knocked him out.

Fitz went under the cars and put his machine in place. He could disable the cars with ease, he just needed to make sure he didn't get caught. Skye was in the mansion and roaming through the halls when she heard a woman say Mr Quinn's package was downstairs. As she made her way down, she felt her heart continue to beat faster and faster. To keep herself focused, she reminded herself of everything Ward taught her and what May told her.

Slowly she went down the stairs and entered a cellar of sorts to see some kind of machine in the corner. On the table was the black box with whatever Quinn had purchased. Cautiously she moved towards the machine in the corner, she looked inside and saw Mike. Her heart stopped as she recalled the bridge explosion, he was here.

"Mike," she breathed.

"Hello," Quinn said making Skye want to jump out of her skin.

She raised her gun, but lost it to the guy who had been hiding.

"Skye," Quinn said as his 'bodyguard' pointed her own gun at her, "The Clairvoyant told me to expect you."

"Signor Quinn," his guard said, "this is the same gun as the specs you gave us."

"Yeah, you guys have been looking at us, while we've been looking at you," Quinn told her, "And we found a handful of particularly interesting things."

Skye shoved the guard away from her, but he kept his gun pointed at her while she looked over at Quinn. Quinn opened the chamber, Mike opened his eyes and sat up.

"Mike," Skye said, "Oh God. You're alive."

Mike just stared at her as Quinn said, "That's right, you two know each other. Hey... Do you know who I am?"

Mike didn't speak, only nodded.

"And you have your orders," Quinn asked, Mike nodded again, "Good, cause I have something that's gonna help you complete them."

Quinn took the gun from his guard and pointed it at Skye. She was so confused and absolutely terrified.

"Orders," she asked, "Mike what is happening here?"

He didn't answer, he wouldn't answer.

"Mike," Skye tried again, but he was quiet.

The guard, Mancini, put some metal object on his appendage and told him to stand. Mike did slowly and Mancini typed something into the box causing the machine to whir and Mike to cry out. The object attached itself to him and gave him a metal leg.

Quinn smiled, "Mancini, thank you. You will be receiving your payment shortly."

Mancini left leaving Mike, Quinn and Skye alone. Skye was panicking on the inside, she didn't know what they had down to Mike, but it wasn't good. Where was May and Ward when she needed them? She needed a plan to get out of here and she needed one fast.

"That is the best money can buy my friend," Quinn said with a smile, "Every piece of technology in you is top-of-the-line. I just wonder if I'm getting my money's worth. I know you get your orders from the Clairvoyant, so that means you're not allowed to hurt me, right?"

Mike didn't move, even though he so badly wanted to hurt Quinn right now. Quinn pulled out a gun and Skye's breath caught in her throat.

"What if I tried to hurt you," Quinn asked, "Would you stop me?"

For the first time, Mike spoke, "No. I would not."

Skye felt sick. She had seen guns before, handled them even, but Quinn holding one and pointing it at Mike was a different story. From what Skye could tell, Quinn was baiting Mike, but Mike wouldn't do anything. He just stood there and it hurt Skye to watch. How could they do this to him? Maybe she could talk to him.

"Mike, listen," Skye said trying to hide her fear, but failing, "I do not know what they're doing to you, but we have to get out of here. Now."

Mike looked down, he couldn't leave. Quinn put the gun in Mike's hand.

"And," he started with a smirk, "If I wanted you to hurt her, you know kill her, will you? I mean what would hurt Agent Coulson more than to lose his pet project? What would hurt the Cavalry more than to lose her daughter again?"

Skye inhaled sharply, this was bad. How did Quinn know about May and her? She stared at Mike, praying he would fight whatever it was they were doing to him. Her heart was beating out of control and she was certain she was going to lose it all together, especially with tears brimming in her eyes. However she swallowed them, she would be strong until the end. She could do it.

Mike turned to Quinn angrily, "Those aren't my orders," he growled.

Skye felt her shoulders relax slightly and she released a silent breath. He wouldn't kill her.

"She's not who I'm supposed to kill," Mike stated and Skye choked.

Mike walked out, but she followed him trying to get him to stop, but it was too late. He was already out the door and gone.

Skye turned back to Quinn, "How did you know about me? What the hell did you do to Mike?"

Bang.

Skye sucked a breath as the pain from the bullet exploded through her stomach. If her heart wasn't going to burst before, it was going to burst now. She looked down at her stomach and already could see a red blob forming. Her hand rested over the wound as blood soaked her shirt and settled on her hand.

 _"You're doing pretty good for a rookie," Ward._

The pain was spreading and it was spreading rapidly. Shakily she looked at Quinn as he started to walk over to her. Her knees were starting to give, but he grabbed her by the waist and held her partially upright.

 _"An object of unknown origin, kind of like you." Coulson._

Skye wanted to move, she wanted to yell, she wanted to do something, but the pain. It hurt so bad. It was all she could focus on.

Bang.

He fired another shot and she gasped, the pain tripled. Blood formed in her mouth and she was finding it harder to breathe.

 _"I can't be apart of your bad girl shenanigans, I like following the rules and doing what's expected of me." Simmons._

He laid her on the ground and said, "I'm sorry, I have my orders too."

He took her locket, wiped his gun and walked away leaving her to die. Skye stared at the ceiling, she could only feel pain and the blood settling over her skin.

 _"Time will come when you won't make fun of me for that. You'll be jealous you wrinkly old hags_." _Fitz._

She struggled to breathe, but she kept fighting, she had too. Her cheeks lost color quickly, her breath more shallow than before and her vision was already becoming darker and blurry. Skye kept fighting it, she couldn't, no wouldn't go down like this.

"Help," she tried to say, but was cut off by the pain in her stomach.

Using all her remaining strength, she moved to the door.

 _"You're my priority, you need me and I'm going to be there_." _Mom._

Pain pulsed through her body, but she kept moving until she got to the door. She reached and reached until she got it to open, but now she had no more energy.

Desperately, she tried to yell, but it came out as a whisper, "Mom, help…. mom…"

 ***Outside***

When Fitz saw the dead body appear at his side and the gun shots his thoughts went straight to Skye. A guard was ready to shoot him when Ward shot him first. The whole team was here.

"Where's Skye," Coulson asked.

May felt her stomach clench and her heart stop. Something terrible had happened. She didn't know what or how, but she felt it. She felt something bad had happened to Skye and she prayed she was wrong.

Fitz said, "S-She didn't want to let Quinn get away."

May was going to have a heart attack, why did Skye go in alone? Ward, May and Coulson went inside, May faster than anyone. Ward busted in and shot every guard in sight, Coulson stopped Quinn and held a gun to his head. Coulson and Ward subdued him.

With the gun still pointed at him Coulson asked through gritted teeth, "Where's Skye?"

May wanted to go running and search, but she had to wait. She couldn't just take off.

"The Cavalry's daughter," Quinn said and May felt her heart jump, "You know Agent Coulson, it's dangerous to keep sending her in like that, all alone."

May grabbed him from Ward so fast it was like lightning. No one touched her daughter and got away with it. Anger flowed through her veins and fury shone in her brown eyes.

Furious she asked, "Where the hell is she?"

Quinn smirked and held up the gold locket with the moon and star. May felt her heart stop beating. What happened to her baby girl? May grabbed the locket from and knocked him down.

Coulson ordered, "Search the house, find her! Now!"

Ward cuffed Quinn, while Coulson, Fitz-Simmons and May took off. May saw the little door downstairs and saw it cracked open. Her heart was beating so fast and hard in her chest it hurt. She walked in, at first she didn't see Skye until she looked down her feet. Skye lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Her daughter. In that moment, she let out a blood curdling scream that echoed throughout the entire mansion.

"No, oh no," May said, she kneeled and pulled Skye into her arms, "SIMMONS, COULSON! Get down here now! Skye she's hurt!"

Tears swam in May's eyes, "No, no, no. Skye please hold on... Daisy please."

Simmons and Coulson appeared at her side. Ward and Fitz followed behind them a moment later.

"She's been shot," May said.

"Keep her upright," Simmons instructed.

"I don't have a pulse," Coulson told them.

"She's lost too much blood," Simmons said, but spotted the machine in the corner, "Put her in there."

"Do you even know what that thing is," Ward asked panicked and not wanting to put Skye in it.

"It's a hyperbaric chamber and I said put her in there now!" Simmons ordered.

All together, they lifted Skye and brought her to the chamber. Once in, Ward closed it while Simmons went to work on the keypad.

"I need to get her temperature down Fitz," Simmons said.

"Got it," he said and helped her.

May stared through the glass at Skye, her heart racing and fear rising. This wasn't supposed to happen. Skye shouldn't be hurt right now.

"Her temperature's dropping," Fitz said a moment later.

"Pressure stabilizing," Simmons added and looked at her wounded friend.

May was getting frantic, "Is it working," she asked.

Coulson echoed her words, "Is it working!?"

A moment later Skye took and released a breath. May drew a breath of her own. She was still alive.

"For now," Simmons said.

They got the chamber onto the BUS and left straight away with Quinn in the cage. Simmons explained what needed to happen next, they could only keep Skye in the chamber for a few more hours. She needed to get to a medical facility and fast. Looking at Skye, seeing her this way made everyone break on the inside. Simmons left the room and grabbed something to clean the blood off her hands, but immediately began to break down.

Someone she had seen as a best friend, a sister was dying in the other room and it broke her heart. Fitz was at her side and wrapped his arms around his friend letting her cry. He blamed himself for this, but he would do everything in his power to help Skye. No matter what. Ward watched from a distance with anger coursing through his veins. As soon as he got his hands on Quinn, he would kill him, he would tear him to shreds.

Ward walked out and punched the hood of the black car. This wasn't supposed to happen, Skye should have never been in this situation. Coulson was standing opposite to May looking down at Skye. No one should have been hurt. Skye was like a daughter to him, she was great and he couldn't lose her. He wouldn't lose her. May held the locket in her hand and stared at Skye.

Tears pricked her eyes as she whispered hoarsely, "My love is strong… and close to you. All throughout the day, heart in hand…." May sniffed and took a shaky breath, "Always near and will never go away. And never let go. Hold on Skye, please hold on."

* * *

 **Teaser**

"Let's find out."

"Why didn't I stop her?

"It's your fault!"

"Stop it!"

"I'm going to save you Skye."


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I just got back from a three day volleyball camp which was a lot of fun, but with spending dawn to dusk in the gym left no time to post. I upped the rating for this story to T for safety and my own comfort. Okay, that's all my agents, as usual thank you for everything.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen**

Coulson and Simmons brought Skye to the medical facility where the doctors prepped for surgery and went straight to work. Ward, Fitz and May were waiting in one of the sit in area for Coulson and Simmons. Ever since they arrived, May had been pacing back and forth unsure of what else to do. It was thanks to Ward she hadn't gone after Quinn in the interrogation room. Nothing would have given her a greater pleasure than to beat that man for what he did to her daughter. She wanted to blame herself for this, but knew that would accomplish nothing.

Fitz and Ward watched May unsurely, they heard what Quinn said about Skye. That was quite the blow and although they wanted to ask, now wasn't the time. Simmons and Coulson arrived minutes later. May stood off to the side, Simmons took her seat beside Fitz and told them the surgery had started. Now all they could do was wait.

"I'm here," Coulson said through the phone, "That's unacceptable. I need to speak to Director Fury immediately, please."

"Why didn't I stop her," Fitz muttered hoarsely, tears on his cheeks, "I could have-"

"As if you could stop Skye from doing anything she set her mind to," Simmons tells him.

"I shouldn't have let her go after Quinn by herself," Fitz said, "What was I thinking?"

Ward spoke next, "It's not your fault. She shouldn't have been there. I'm her S.O. it's on me."

May couldn't take this talk anymore. She wanted to blame herself, but she knew there was no way to have stopped this. If they needed someone to blame, she would give it to them.

"No one here is to blame except the man who shot her," May said, speaking for the first time since they arrived, "Ian Quinn did this. And he's gonna pay for it."

"Yes, the message is I have an agent dying," Coulson said, "And there are questions only he can answer."

Coulson hung up the phone and slammed it down. He was furious. If there was anyway to save Skye, Fury knew it. The team sat in silence all night. There was nothing any of them could say, so they didn't say anything.

It wasn't until dawn did they get an update on Skye. As soon as a nurse walked in, everyone stood up. May positioned herself before the nurse next to Coulson and waited anxiously.

"How is she," Coulson asked.

The nurse told them, "Not good. The shots perforated her stomach and penetrated the large and small intestines. We resected what we could, but… I'm afraid there's been too much damage."

May couldn't talk, so Coulson spoke again, "So what's next?"

"We can keep her comfortable," replied the nurse sadly. She turned to May, "You're her mother, you'll need to make a decision on whether or not you want to keep her on life support."

May stared at the nurse and said, "You're saying there's nothing to be done?"

"I'm very sorry," the nurse said softly.

Coulson stood frozen in his spot, Simmons, Fitz and Ward sat back down trying to process what the nurse had said. There was nothing to be done about Skye except leave her on life support.

There was no saving her.

May knew what pain felt like, physical and emotional. Right now she felt as if the air had been forced out of her lungs and she was drowning. She felt like her skin was on fire and her eyes burned. Quinn would pay. Not saying anything, May stormed out of the waiting area and went back to the BUS. She would have words with Quinn, but mostly she would have punches. The words, _Skye is dying and it's his fault,_ replayed in her head almost like a chant. She opened the door and saw him sitting there looking smug as ever.

"Finally," he said, "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten-"

May didn't let him finish, she put her hands behind him and slammed his head on the metal table. _Skye is dying and it's his fault._ When he bounced back, she grabbed the chair and pulled it from under him and threw it against the wall. He was cuffed to the table and lying slightly curled up on the ground with a blood nose. _Skye is dying and it's his fault._

"Wait," he cried, "You can't!"

May kneeled over him and grabbed him the collar, anger in her eyes. He shot her daughter. Skye was dying because of _him_.

"Why," May hissed through her teeth, "Cause you're defenseless, like she was?"

One punch. Another punch, this time much harder. The next punch harder than the last.

"You did this," snarled and punched in the jaw, "It's your fault!"

 _Skye is dying and it is his fault._ she punched him in the face four more times before Coulson and Ward arrived to stop her.

"May," Coulson said, "May!"

She stopped and looked back at Coulson, her fist ready to collide with Quinn's face again. Coulson knew May was hurting, he knew she was in a lot of pain, but this wouldn't help her or Skye. "Outside, now," Coulson said sternly. May shoved Quinn to the ground and pushed past Coulson and Ward. Ward stayed outside Quinn's door while Coulson brought a fuming May to his office. Once the door was closed May let loose.

"He deserves to die," May shouted, "Not her! Not Skye!"

May stood near a coffee table and without thinking punched it as hard as she could, shattering the glass and cutting her already bloody knuckles. She didn't feel the glass in her hand. All she felt was her heart breaking. She had lost Skye, again and this time, she would never come back.

Coulson grabbed her wrists, "May, stop," he told her.

May yanked her arms away and turned away from Coulson. Her daughter was dying, her baby girl would truly be gone forever. No hope of ever coming back.

"Melinda," Coulson said sternly.

May forced herself to turn around and look at Coulson. He saw the pain in her eyes, the anger, sorrow and guilt was all there. Hot tears swam in May's eyes as she looked at Coulson.

May spoke in a raspy low voice, "That's my daughter out there and the man who shot her downstairs." Coulson remained silent and let May continue knowing she needed to release her anger, "HE SHOT HER WHEN SHE HAD NOTHING!"

Tears were building in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall as she shouted, "That's _my_ daughter! My daughter _dying_. She's on life support because that bastard shot her!"

Coulson could see the pain in May's eyes, heard it in her screams. He knew she had lost a lot and that she was breaking. There was nothing he could do now.

Hot tears fell down May's cheeks as she said, "I lost her 24 years ago and I just found her only months ago! I CANNOT and WILL NOT lose her again! I will not let Quinn get away with this! He has to pay! He should DIE. Not her, not my girl."

Coulson replied, "Agreed, but right now Quinn doesn't matter May. Only Skye does and I need you to pilot this plane."

May stared at Coulson, "You heard what the doctor said."

"She said there was nothing more they could do for her, but there are doctors who brought me back from the dead," Coulson replied seriously, "If they can do that, I'm betting they can save Skye."

May nodded, "Let's find out." If there was any chance of saving her daughter, May was going to take it.

* * *

The doctors moved Skye to a pod and from there, the team was able to put it on the BUS. May was in the pod while they moved Skye in, not wanting to leave her. Skye was lying on the hospital bed hooked up to a million wires and a breathing tube that made May nervous.

This was her daughter. Her daughter who was just barely clinging to life.

Coulson was standing outside, but May didn't care. He had seen her in worse states.

She grabbed Skye's lifeless hand and told her, "I don't know if you can hear me Skye, but… I just want you to know I love you so much. I never in my life thought it was possible to love someone so much that it hurt. Ever since I held you for the first time, I knew you would be my world, my sky. That is exactly what you've become, my everything, my Skye. My not so little girl. I'm going to save you Skye, mom's going to save you."

May bent down and kissed Skye's forehead before heading to cockpit to pilot the plane They needed to get to Bethesda. Coulson told Ward about T.A.H.I.T.I. who had taken it as a shock, but fairly well. After all he had seen crazy stuff in life. Why should a dead man walking be any different? Ward went up to help May while Coulson went to Fitz-Simmons and told them everything.

There was a lot in his file he didn't understand, he hoped Fitz-Simmons could decipher it. They went to work straight away only thinking of their friend who was lying still in the pod downstairs. Ward joined May in the cockpit. He saw her freak out earlier, but by the looks of it, she appeared to have calmed down.

"Hurt much," he asked looking at her hand, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," May said flatly, even though she clearly was not.

Ward didn't buy, "No you're not."

"Then why'd you ask," May questioned bitterly, she was not in the mood.

Ward wanted to assure her, but knew there was nothing he could say. After all, he was hurting over a colleague, a friend. She was hurting over her child, her daughter. There was no greater pain.

Ward switched topics, "Coulson told me how long he was dead." By May's silence he went on, "But you already knew that, didn't you? You saw Skye, the machines filtering her blood, breathing for her... I hope Coulson's right about these doctors and their miracle working."

May took a breath, "Me too... It makes sense, he would do this for any of us. People like us need people like him. Besides this is better than the alternative."

"Giving up," Ward suggested.

May replied, "Or killing the man responsible."

Ward gave her a ghost smile, "I did enjoy watching you go after Quinn. Too bad we can't take him out now."

May agreed with that, but before she could respond a woman spoke through the comms.

 _"S.H.I.E.L.D. 616 this is Tower Michael Tango, you are in violation of S.H.I.E.L.D. Directive 1297. respond immediately."_

"Disobeying a direct order," Ward realized, "We didn't hand Quinn over for interrogation."

May sighed, "Great."

John Garrett and Antoine Triplett boarded the plane to get Quinn. However thanks to Coulson, they were able to work something out. Garret would get to interrogate Quinn while still aboard the plane. This way everyone got what they wanted.

Quinn told them the Clairvoyant, how he ordered him to shoot Skye. It was all because the Clairvoyant couldn't see what happened to Coulson after he died. By shooting Skye it forces him and his team to figure out how they saved him and allow the Clairvoyant to know what happened. If not, Skye wasn't going to live.

Coulson called Simmons and May up, turns out there really wasn't much good news to go around. May was fuming, she recovered from her outburst earlier, but now she felt it building again.

"Quinn shot Skye for nothing," she growled, "The place we're going, the doctors who treated you, they do not exist."

"Or they exist somewhere else," Coulson suggested, "This is S.H.I.E.L.D. there are always secrets."

"That's my fear sir," Simmons replied, "Your file, it is filled with secrets, experimental drugs, unknown surgical procedures we've never even heard of. Frankly Fitz and I only understand about 70% of what's in here."

That was low for the two of them, however there was something else bothering them and everyone else on the team. Whether or not they should. Fitz-Simmons saw the reports, Coulson was in a lot of pain and begged for death. No one wanted to see Skye go through that. May didn't want to see Skye in that much pain, but… if there was a chance to save her, she would take it.

She was going to do everything in her power to save Skye, no matter what.

 _Hold on and never let go._

Fitz-Simmons were able to access the Triskelion and were searching furiously for anything on where Coulson might have taken. May was in the cockpit flying staring at Skye on the screen, Coulson was in his office doing the same thing. After some digging, Fitz-Simmons found a map or really a structure of a place.

A landscape of the hidden bunker accessed by Director Nick Fury. This was where the drug GH-325 was used and where Coulson was treated. If there was a chance to save Skye, it would be found here. May brought the plane there and after some travel time they arrived. Ward, Fitz, Garrett and Coulson went in to find the drug while May, Simmons and Trip stayed with Skye. The three of them stood outside the pod watching Skye helplessly.

May prayed Coulson and the others would find this drug, it could save her daughter. It was the only thing that could help her now. May told them the comms were down that she might need to go after them when Skye choked. Her back arched the monitor started beeping rapidly.

"Skye's coding," Simmons said, "Both of you now."

She opened the door, May and Trip followed.

May took a quick breath and asked, "How can we help?" Simmons answered as she started to do CPR, "I need a unit of EPI."

"Got it," Trip said and injected Skye with the needle.

It worked, but there was no telling for how long. Skye was dying, right now only a miracle could save her.

"Weak erratic heart rate," Simmons told them, "I hope they find this drug soon."

Just then Fitz went over comms, but it was breaking up. May didn't want to go, but she needed to know if they found the drug. May was walking out when Skye started to code again.

She stopped in her tracks and asked Fitz over the comms, "What's happening?"

Quickly she ran out, she needed Skye to hold on a little longer. Right now they needed time and that was not something they had. None of them had. May got in the pilot seat and began to take off, luckily Coulson, Garrett, Fitz and Ward got on in time.

It was a close call, but Garrett and Coulson made it. Fitz arrived first with the drug in hand, Simmons still doing CPR.

Coulson ran in and said, "No don't give it to her."

It was too late, Simmons gave her the drug and Skye was already flat lining.

Simmons replied, "I was losing her anyway, what harm can it do?"

They looked at the monitors, "Come on girl," Trip said.

May rushed in as soon as the plane was on autopilot. Skye flatlined. May's heart was beating faster and her mind was spinning.

"No," May breathed, but then it happened.

"It's working," Garrett said when they saw Skye's heart beat on the monitor rise.

Skye arched slightly and she gasped for air. Then she started to spike and arched further as she continued to gasp.

"Skye," May cried and stood by Simmons.

"Stop it," Ward said, "How can we stop it? Skye!"

"What's happening," Coulson asked, but Simmons didn't know.

"Do something, we have to do something," Fitz said panickedly.

She continued to gasp until suddenly she stopped, her heart beat slowed and so did her breathing. She relaxed against the pillows and lay still minus the rise and fall of her chest.

"Her heartbeat," Simmons said, ''She's stabilizing."

Simmons smiled, it worked, she would live. May stared at Skye with tears in her eyes and rested her hand on Skye's head. Her daughter was going to live.

"Could someone tell me what the hell we just saw," Ward asked confused and shocked.

Trip answered, "The girl's a fighter. What was the stuff you just gave her?"

Simmons looked at Coulson, "I don't know. All I know is it that it worked." "You're a miracle worker," Trip said.

May looked away from her daughter at Coulson. She expected to see him happy, full of relief, but he looked awful. He looked like he had seen a ghost. His expression was one of fear and worry. May would ask him what happened later, for now her focus was solely on her daughter.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"I've got you."

"If only it were that simple."

"You two look like death."

"We're you ever going to tell us?"

"You certainly don't look it."


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey guys, so I've been thinking about a summary change since the summary down below was meant for a one-shot and now it's a multi-chapter story. Since I'm indecisive, do you think I should leave the summary or change it up? Tell me your thoughts because I don't know what I want to do.**

 **Love my Agents, so very much!**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen**

May stayed with Skye for a little while longer, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling to go check on Coulson. Simmons told her that he was yelling not to use the drug. They didn't know why, especially now when it had saved Skye's life. Her bullet wounds were already showing signs of healing. Simmons continued to check on Skye's vitals, Trip, Garrett and Quinn left the BUS while Ward and Fitz were off by themselves. Coulson was sitting in his office staring at the wall ahead when May came up.

May stood in the doorway for a moment before asking, "Do you mind?"

Coulson didn't speak, he was too far off to talk. Instead he shook his head in reply. May walked in, she needed to know what was going on with her friend. When he walked out of the pod, he looked conflicted, a mix between relief and shock.

"You did the impossible today, you saved my daughter's life," May stated softly, she sat down in front of him, "Why aren't you happy about it?"

It wasn't that Coulson was upset about Skye. He was happy she was going to live, but after what he saw down there. Remembering the pain he went through, how much he had suffered from that drug. Seeing where the drug came from and worrying about what it would do to Skye made him want to stop Simmons from injecting her. However he was too late and at first he thought Skye was going to suffer, but she didn't.

"I'm happy Skye's alive May," Coulson said softly.

May saw the hesitation and replied, "You certainly don't look it."

Coulson smirked lightly, "You didn't look all to excited when you found out Skye was your daughter... It's a similar reaction I'm having I guess."

May's brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm happy she's okay, but..." Coulson trailed off not knowing what to say.

May sighed, "They told me you were yelling not to use the drug on Skye. Why?"

Coulson saw everything from T.A.H.I.T.I. to the basement in flashes. It made him swallow hard and lose focus.

He took a deep breath and said, "Being down there, seeing where I came from... I just got really scared that she would suffer the way I did, but she didn't. For whatever reason she didn't."

May wasn't sure what to say. She read Coulson's file, she knew about what the drug had done to him and how he suffered from it. However when it came to finding the drug and using it on Skye, that didn't matter. If it meant she would live, it didn't matter.

Of course May didn't want to see Skye suffer, but if it meant she would stay alive, wasn't it worth it?

"I don't know why she didn't," May said, "What matters is she's alive because of you. Because of you, my daughter still has a heartbeat."

Coulson gave her a weak smile, "I'm sorry I couldn't save her before."

May frowned, she knew exactly what he was referring to. At first May never knew Coulson blamed himself for the loss of her daughter. Over time she put the pieces together and could tell he was guilty for that night.

"You know I didn't and don't blame you," May stated.

Coulson looked at his hands, "You should, I didn't listen to you when you said something was wrong. Had I listened, had I gotten you out of there sooner-"

"Stop," May said, "The only one to blame is Calvin. You're the one who told me not to focus on the what if's. I think it's time you take your own advice."

Coulson grinned, "If only it were that simple."

May understood that better than anyone. Taking advice from others was easier than taking advice from yourself. For the next half hour they sat in silence, enjoying the presence of the other.

* * *

Overnight Skye had made excellent progress, for starters she was able to breathe without the tube down her throat. Although Simmons wanted to be on the safe side, she put a nasal cannula on her to ensure she would get enough oxygen. May only left Skye's pod two times, once to talk to Coulson and the second time to land the plane. With a team member down, they wouldn't be doing any ops for a little while. No one seemed to upset about that.

Simmons constantly checked on Skye and was relieved to see her progress so quickly, however she was concerned about her recovery. Despite the drug that saved her, Simmons wanted to know all about this drug and study it and hopefully make more of it. All the good it would do. However there wasn't much Simmons could go off of considering the only existing remnants of the drug were in Skye's blood. She took two samples of Skye's blood while she slept and brought them down to the lab.

Ward was sitting in his bunk staring off into space thinking about Skye. He wasn't sure what he felt for her, but he knew if anything like this happened to her again… he didn't think he'd ever be the same. The thought of never seeing Skye again, see her smile, hear her voice was enough to make Ward choke. There was something about Skye. After seeing what had happened to her, he knew he would protect her with his life.

Three days after Skye had been shot, she woke up. Skye's brown eyes flew up and she gasped for air sending pain through her abdomen. Panic washed over her until she saw May and Coulson looking at her.

"Skye it's okay, you're safe," Coulson told her, his words muffled.

Skye tried to move, but winced as a pulse of pain raced through her. She shut her eyes, every breath she took felt like fire while the rest of her body burned. Her head ached, her stomach was in a lot of pain and her chest felt heavy and hot. Skye felt cool fingers touch her cheek followed by the rest of a hand.

"Skye open your eyes," she heard May say, "You're safe. No one can hurt you."

Skye relaxed a little and opened her eyes to see her May looking at her with soft brown eyes. Once May's eyes held Skye's gaze she smiled, "You're safe Skye."

"Mom," Skye croaked.

She remembered going after Quinn and getting shot, the last thing she heard was her mother's voice telling her to hold on before the world went black and there was no noise. May leaned forward, she lifted her other hand and placed it on Skye's cheek.

Holding her face May nodded, "I'm here. We're on the BUS. You're still hurt, but you're going to be just fine."

Skye nodded, she wanted to say something, but no words came. Instead tears filled in her eyes and she felt incredibly weak. May wiped away Skye's tears as they fell.

She whispered to her, "Shh, it's okay Skye. The worst of it is over."

Skye nodded slightly again before shutting her eyes trying to stop the tears from falling, but to know avail. May let go of Skye's face and gently wrapped her arms around the young woman's shoulders. Skye was too weak to lift her arms, instead she pressed her face into May's shoulder and let the tears fall. She had been shot, she almost died and had been so afraid, but it was over. Her mom was here with her.

"It's okay, I've got you," May whispered and kissed the side of her head.

May let go of Skye, pulled her chair closer to the bed and sat back in her chair.

"I got Simmons," Coulson said.

Skye hadn't even noticed he left, but that was neither here nor there. Simmons leaned over her with a huge smile full of relief.

"Thank goodness you're awake," Simmons said, "I'm going to run a few basic tests on you okay?"

Skye nodded and winced when her head began to ache more. Simmons ran a few basic tests, for example how many fingers was she holding up. She asked how she was feeling, if anything was sore, hurting or out of the ordinary feeling.

Skye told her in a raspy voice, "My stomach hurts like hell. My head is killing me, every breath I take feels like I'm breathing in flames and weak. I can barely move."

Simmons wrote it all down, "Don't worry," Simmons told her, "I have just the things to help with the pain. I'll be back in a minute then we can talk about the healing process and what not."

Skye nodded, "Okay. Thanks Simmons."

Once Simmons was gone, Skye took a better look at May. Her skin was a little pale, her eyes worn down and expression blank, for the most part. Coulson didn't look much better.

Skye cracked a smile and commented, "You two look like death."

May grinned, she was so happy to hear Skye's voice. "You're one to talk," she said then looked at Coulson and said, "Can I have a minute alone with Skye?"

Coulson didn't say anything. Instead he walked out of the pod, closed the door and gave Skye a warm smile which she returned. Once Coulson was out of sight, Skye returned her attention to her mom who was ready to break, but she held herself together.

May took a shaky breath, "I'm not very good with feelings or emotions, but… I was so worried that you weren't going to make it. It hurt too much to lose you the first time. Being so close to losing you again killed me… What I'm trying to say is you gave me a damn heart attack and I cannot live without you Skye. I cannot and will not do it. I love you far too much."

Skye smiled at May sweetly, "I love you too mom."

May took Skye's hand into her own and said, "Don't you ever scare me like that again. That's an order, as a high ranking agent and your mother."

"Yes ma'am," Skye teased, "Guess that means I'm grounded?"

"Big time," May replied with a grin.

Simmons walked in a minute later with a glass of water, a bag filled with clear liquid and two needles. Simmons set the glass and needles down and moved to the other side of Skye's bed replacing the old bag with the new one.

"So tell me Dr Simmons," Skye said with a smile, "How am I looking?"

Simmons smiled lightly, "Much better than before. The IV will give you the nutrients you need and keep you hydrated. The water is here for your throat, but only small sips. As for the needles, one is a shot to help with the pain while the other is draw some blood."

Skye made a face and groaned, "I hate needles."

A small smile appeared on May's face, she hated needles as well. Anything that poked her made her uncomfortable. Simmons gave Skye the shot and drew a little blood before leaving the mother daughter duo. A minute after Skye was injected with the liquid from the shot, her eyes began to droop and she felt even more tired than before.

"I think she gave you a sleeping drug," May commented when she noticed Skye relax further into her bed.

Sleepily she yawned, "Yeah, she probably did."

Skye closed her eyes and her breathing evened out. May smiled, she pulled the covers up to Skye's shoulders and turned out the pod lights. She looked at her daughter happily, knowing when she came back down she would still be breathing. She would still be alive. May went upstairs to see the boys and Simmons in the command center. Ward noticed May walk in first.

"Is she still awake," Ward asked.

May shook her head, "No, whatever Simmons gave her knocked her out cold."

Fitz rolled his eyes, "Okay Jemma that's not fair. We have all been waiting for Skye to wake up and when she does, you won't let us down there and then you put her to sleep."

Simmons shrugged, "I'm sorry, but she needed to rest. Besides I thought if everyone went down there she would get overwhelmed and that won't do her any good. She'll wake up in a few hours, then you guys can go see her. In the meantime she needs as much rest as possible."

"Simmons is right," Coulson said, "Right now it's best Skye relax and build up her strength."

For a few minutes everyone was silent.

"Can we talk about the elephant in the room, with May and Skye," Ward said suddenly looking at the floor, "We're all thinking about it."

Fitz-Simmons exchanged worried looked, both not sure if they should say something.

Fitz decided to speak, "What Ward means is, we're just a bit confused about it..."

"It was rather surprising and came about in an abrupt way," Simmons added softly.

Quinn had called Skye, the Cavalry's daughter and the nurse confirmed it at the hospital. However May never gave the team any explanation. Their focus on was saving Skye, but now that she was okay, it was time to talk. Ward had been caught off guard while Fitz-Simmons were just confused.

"Alright," May said, "I never told anyone this except less than a handful of people that I had a daughter, but… a few months after she was born I lost her. Then a few weeks after Skye joined the team it was revealed she had some history with S.H.I.E.L.D. She had been looking for her parents and the only lead she had was a redacted document by S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson ran her blood through the Archives. She matched mine and it was discovered she was my daughter. That's all there is to it."

"Why not tell us," Fitz asked softly. Simmons added, "When you found out."

May sighed, "We wanted it to be a secret at first. Just something the two of us would know about. Minus Coulson since he was the one who found out with me."

Ward asked still trying to process the situation, "We're you ever going to tell us?"

May nodded, "We were planning on telling you when the time was right."

Fitz-Simmons exchanged another look, both wanted to ask more questions, but really didn't know what to say. They had just discovered their friend for the past few months was the daughter of their team member and well known agent throughout S.H.I.E.L.D. They supposed it made sense given their similar brown eyes, facial structure and certain personality traits.

Ward was just fried, he didn't know what to think or say. He couldn't get past the idea that Melinda May had a daughter. Ward could handle Skye finding her mother, since she had told him she was looking, but discovering a fellow teammate and colleague was her mother… it was different story. A silence settled over the group, no one really knowing what to say or what to do.

The silence seemed to drag on forever. No one really knew what to say, there wasn't really anything Ward or Fitz-Simmons could say about the situation other than they were surprised. May had nothing else to tell her team and Coulson, he was just watching.

Surprisingly Ward was the first to recover, "Although this is shocking and... difficult to process. I'm happy for you and Skye."

Simmons nodded in agreement, "I think it's amazing you two were able to find each other again."

"Yeah, it's really great," Fitz added.

May smiled gently at the younger agents, but didn't say anything as they left. Fitz-Simmons went downstairs to the lab with Ward behind them. Once they were gone

Coulson spoke. "That went well," Coulson commented.

May nodded, "Better than I thought it would."

* * *

 **Teaser**

"You haven't said that to me since..."

"Think I'll pass on that one."

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"We have company."

"I'm not going anywhere."


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: Warning: Philinda moment up ahead AND some May/Skye bonding.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty**

Skye woke up the next morning to see May sitting in the chair next her bed reading a book that was really thick from what she could tell.

"Harry Potter," Skye guessed as she blinked the sleepiness away.

May peered from behind the book, "No, this is a historical fiction novel."

Skye inhaled deeply and teased, "Think I'll pass on that one." May chuckled and Skye continued smiling, "So, what happened while I was out? Also why are we on the BUS and not at a hospital? Simmons patched me so well we didn't need to go."

The pained looked on May's face was enough to make Skye worry. May rarely showed emotion and even though she had opened up more, this was not something she had seen before. The sorrow in May's eyes, the pain on her face.

"A lot happened Skye," May said after a minute of silence, "I don't know where to start honestly. Once the mission had been compromised, everything fell apart. Ward and Coulson had been hit with something similar to the ICER's..."

As best she could May recalled all the events that occurred in those 72 hours, from the gun shots to lost train to the miracle drug GH-325. Skye listened intently, it was quite the story and she couldn't believe the team went through all that for her. That they were willing to do anything to save her and keep her alive. The idea of people caring for her that much made her smile.

"Wow," Skye said when May was done, "You guys had quite the adventure. I can't believe you, Coulson, Ward and Fitz-Simmons would go through all that trouble to save me…. Thank you."

May smiled, "Anything for you Skye. I made you a promise that I intend to keep, no matter what happens."

Skye only nodded in response. A few minutes later, Simmons, Ward and Fitz walked by. Ward and Fitz's eyes lit up when they saw Skye awake and smiling. Skye looked away from May and met their gazes.

"We have company," Skye teased.

May grinned, "I'll let them in and leave you guys to it."

"You'll be back though," Skye asked nervously and May nodded with a smile.

May walked out of the pod allowing Fitz-Simmons and Ward to come in.

"It's so good to see you," Fitz said then added, "Awake I mean. It's good to see you awake."

"So you've been watching me sleep," Skye teased, "It's good to see you guys to. I wanted to say thank you, for doing what you did. For saving me, it means a lot."

"We'd do anything for you rookie," Ward said with a soft smile.

"I'm still a rookie," Skye whined, "Come on Ward, I think I've moved up in status."

"No," Ward replied.

"I don't think so," "Definitely not," Fitz-Simmons added.

Skye groaned, "Whatever. So are you guys here to keep me company and make sure I don't die of boredom since I'm under house arrest?"

Ward smirked, "Something like that."

Fitz held up a white paper bag, "I brought games, music and your laptop is charging. I'll bring it down once it's done."

"Sweet," Skye said, "Show me the bag."

* * *

May walked through the halls and made her way upstairs to Coulson's office. He was standing behind his desk with his back to May when she walked in.

"You alright," May asked as she closed his door.

Coulson turned around and gave her a soft smile, "I'm doing okay. What about you?"

May shrugged, "My daughter's breathing and is on the road to recovery. I think I'm doing okay. You on the other hand don't look so hot."

"I'm fine, really I am," Coulson paused, "May I just want you to know-" Coulson started, but May stopped him.

They had, had this talk so many times and May didn't want to hear him blame himself again.

"No, you don't have to say anything," May told him.

She walked over to him and stared into his crystal blue eyes. For a moment, the rest of the world and it's problems didn't exist. It was only the two of them. May leaned forward, wrapped her arms around Coulson and buried her face into his shoulder. Coulson closed his eyes and snaked his arms around her waist. Silent tears slid down May's cheeks as she reveled in the feeling of his arms around her and the smell pine trees filled her lungs.

Even after all this time and everything they had been through together, he still had a way to make her feel like she was walking on air. No matter how much she denied it, May knew she still loved him and that she would always love him.

Coulson held May tightly. Ever since they met at the academy, he loved her and wanted to be there for her. She had always been there for him, through it all. If only he could stay like this forever with the woman he loves in his arms. All the things he wanted to say itching their way to the surface, but he forced them down.

"Thank you Phil," May breathed, "For always being there for me, even when I pushed you away."

Coulson squeezed May, "No matter what has happened-" "No matter what you've done," May said gently.

"No matter what you will do," Coulson went on. "I will always love and stand by you," May replied. "I swear it," Coulson finished.

Over the years, working as agents together there were some pretty close calls. Sometimes when one of them didn't make it back. It had been Coulson's idea that they saw something to each other before they go on missions. Not only was it something to say to each other, but it also helped them deal with some things that were happening around.

Being an agent meant they would have to make some tough calls and sometimes those calls would hurt them. A call Coulson made in Moscow still haunted him to this. Much like the call May had made in Bahrain. When both of them made a hard choice out there and it was starting to weight them down, this was what they would say to the other. It was their way of saying that no matter what happens, they would have each other's back. In the end it became a saying for before and after missions.

A sign they would always stay close.

May let go of Coulson and looked up into his soft eyes. His hands rested on her waist while her hands stayed on his shoulders.

"You haven't said that to me since..." May trailed thinking of the last time he said those words to her.

It had been after Bahrain and she hadn't been able to say the words back. After what happened in Bahrain, May had been so broken during that time. It was as if the only piece of the old May had vanished that day. May couldn't save the girl, she had felt the ache for her daughter that day and the little girl who didn't understand. Even thought Coulson didn't know what happened in there, he showed her that no matter what happened he would always be there for her.

"I know," Coulson said softly, "It seemed appropriate. And I'm surprised you remembered it."

"How could I forget it," May asked softly, "Thank you Phil. Really."

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you," Coulson said gently.

May grinned sadly before walking out of his office and going to bed with a heavy heart.

* * *

It was 1:00 in the morning when May woke up in the cockpit. She vaguely remembered coming in here to be alone and relax and since she hadn't slept since she found Skye in the basement, she was exhausted. Despite the late hour, she got up and made herself a cup of tea before heading down to check on Skye. However when she turned the last corner and looked in the pod, Skye wasn't there.

The door was open and the sheets were on the floor. May felt her heartbeat quicken in rate as she looked around the empty room. However she told herself Skye couldn't have gotten far. May set the cup of tea down and ran through the halls. Where had she gone? She shouldn't be out of bed in the first place. May turned another corner and saw Skye standing in front of the stairs that would lead to the lab.

"Skye," May hissed. Skye's shoulders immediately tensed, she turned around slowly to see a fuming May.

May was ready to yell, but she noticed Skye's red rimmed eyes and tear stained cheeks, even in the dim light of the hallway.

"Skye," May said in a softer tone, "What are you doing out of bed? What's wrong?"

Skye opened her mouth to say something, but no words came, only tears. May walked over to Skye and got a better look at her. She looked broken and on the verge of falling apart.

"I-I saw him," Skye whispered hoarsely, "He w-was in front of m-me… I was trying to g-get away, b-but-"

May understood immediately what was wrong and said, "Take a deep breath for me." Skye did as she was told and May continued, "You're safe now. Quinn is gone and I will make sure he pays for what he's done. I will protect you."

Skye nodded, "I'm s-sorry I just.. I just… I panicked and h-had to make sure you guys were o-okay."

"It's okay, come on let's get you back to bed," May said softly.

The idea of walking back made Skye want to throw up. However May surprised her. May put her arm around Skye's back and bent down slightly so her arm was under Skye's knees. With ease May held Skye in her arms and walked back to the pod. Skye wrapped her arms around May's neck and rested her head down.

"You're a lot stronger than you look," Skye commented.

"And you're lighter than I thought," May replied with a smirk.

Skye grinned, "I'll take that as a compliment."

May set Skye onto the hospital bed gently and pulled the covers over her.

"Now you are not allowed to leave this bed again," May said sternly.

Skye groaned, "What if I have to pee?"

May rolled her eyes, "Then you can leave, but you will not be alone. Someone will help you get there and back. Otherwise, your butt is to stay in this bed, understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Skye replied with a smile, but it faded away as she asked, "Can you stay here with me?"

May nodded, "I'm not going anywhere. Move over."

Skye gaped for a moment, but scooted over to give May room to lay down. May lifted the covers and climbed in beside Skye. Once the covers were pulled over their bodies, May wrapped her arms around Skye who nuzzled closer to her. Skye's head rested on May's shoulder while May's chin rested on top of Skye's head.

As she stroked Skye's hair, May whispered, "I want to tell you it was just a bad dream, but we both know it was more than that. However I also want you to know, I will protect you Skye no matter what. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you before, but I won't let anything happen to you."

"You don't have to apologize," Skye said, "I knew you would come for me, just like you said."

May pulled Skye closer as she whispered, "I'll always come for you baby girl."

"I've never had this before," Skye whispered softly, "Woken up from a nightmare and had someone there to comfort me. It's nice.."

"That's why I'm here," May said gently, "Try to go back to sleep, I'm here for you."

Skye closed her eyes and relaxed in May's arms. May looked down at Skye for a moment with a soft smile. She would protect her daughter no matter what obstacles stood in her way. May pressed her lips to Skye's forehead.

Skye smiled lightly and said sleepily, "I love you."

"I love you so much Skye, always know that," May whispered.

* * *

 **Penny for your thoughts?**

 **Teaser**

"That's not true."

"How are you holding up?"

"I won't do anything to crazy."

"Not really."


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N: Some fluff between May and Skye because I wanted some more fluff. Next chapter will be the beginning of a fight. Anyway, thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews. I love my agents!**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One**

May had been awake for over an hour just enjoying the quiet morning, laying in bed while her daughter still slept. It was hard to believe that days before she was worried she would never have this again, a chance to be near Skye and continue to know her. Over the past couple of months their relationship had grown strong, they had good moments and some bad moments.

May could remember their first meeting as mother and daughter, their first bonding moment, first fight, both physical and verbal. All were memories May cherished and she hoped to make more of them as time went on. One in particular memory always made May smile, it was the first time Skye _really_ made her laugh. May and Skye had been spending more time together for a few weeks and like every other morning they were doing Tai Chi. However Skye had convinced may to teach her a few fighting moves, they even _sparred_ together except in slow motion. And while May was showing Skye one move, she poked her for about the millionth time that day.

 **(Start Of Flashback)**

"Okay what is it," May asked, "You have been poking me all morning, why?"

Skye replied nonchalantly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Skye," May said warningly as she gave Skye a look.

It must have worked because Skye replied sheepishly, "I'm trying to see if you're ticklish and so far I can't tell. You don't react or get mad, you just send a small glare my way, but that's it."

"Why do you want to know if I'm ticklish," May asked taking a sip of water.

Skye shrugged, "I'm just curious to see if the badass Agent May is ticklish."

Coulson smiled softly, he had been watching them train for the past few minutes now and found the topic funny. He knew where May was most ticklish, he would tell Skye about it later, for now he would just watch. May and Skye knew Coulson was there since on occasion he would watch them. Neither of them minded. Skye had asked if Coulson wanted to join, but Coulson told her he wasn't very good at it, so he would just watch.

"A.C." Skye said turning to the other agent, "Is she ticklish, anywhere at all?"

Coulson smiled even more, even though May was sending him deaths glare, "I don't know if she still is, but I remember when we were younger she was so ticklish."

"I was not," May retorted.

Coulson admitted, "I know I'm still ticklish, even after all these years... What about you Skye?"

Skye felt herself begin to panic, but she played it off, "No not really," she lied.

May's lips curled into a smile. After spending so much time with Skye, she learned a lot of her tendencies. She could tell when she was lying or hiding something.

"I can tell when you're lying," May told her eyeing the young woman curiously.

Skye shook her head and took a step back, "I'm not ticklish."

"Then why are you moving away," May asked with a slight smirk.

Skye was stuck, "That is.. because.. I-"

Instead of saying anything else, she took off and the chase began. May was going to have fun with this. Skye ran through the command centre with May only a few steps behind.

"Oh crap," Skye said as she made her way down the silver stairs.

She was about to go through the lab when she saw Coulson inside behind the closed glass doors.

"Really," she panted.

Coulson gave her an apologetic smile and left Skye to fend for herself. May was at the top of the stairs while Skye was still staring at Coulson in mock offense, but as soon as Skye heard footsteps she ran to the cars. Skye was trapped. May was standing across from Skye who was searching for a way out, her eyes landed on the stairs, but she knew getting past her mom was not going to be easy.

May took a calculated step towards Skye, who continued to back up with a nervous smile on her face. Skye quickly went behind Lola much to Coulson's disliking.

"Don't touch Lola," he said and walked out of the lab making sure the doors were locked.

"I won't do anything to crazy," Skye said staring at the two agents, "Maybe we should just talk about this."

"I don't know," May said teasingly, "I'm having fun with this."

Skye scoffed. Quickly she ran behind the black car which was the worst mistake of her life. Coulson went to the front of the car and blocked Skye's path, the only way out was the way she came in. Her eyes landed on Coulson and when she didn't see May she knew she was in trouble. Skye was about to say something when May 'attacked' Skye from behind and tickled her.

"No," Skye laughed as she felt May's hands on her stomach.

Tears stung Skye's eyes as May continued to tickle her.

"Surrender," May said with a smile.

Skye struggled to get away and protested through her laughter, "Nehehevher."

May quickly and carefully got Skye onto her back and continued to tickle. She really enjoyed the sound of Skye's laugh, it made her happy. Coulson could not believe the sight before him, May was not only smiling, but she was laughing whilst tickling.

When Skye squeaked, May froze and so did Skye. May had found her sweet spot. May held Skye's gaze and she could see the panic and happiness in them.

"Oh no," Skye laughed as May's fingers flew across her sweet spot under her ribs, "Okay haha, I-I gihehve. Mom wihehehe, you win."

May and Coulson were stunned at Skye's words. Skye had already called May mom before, but it had only been that one night they were talking a week or two ago and one other time since then. May stopped tickling Skye allowing her to catch her breath. Her smile was wide, her stomach ached, but she was happy however when she saw May and Coulson's expressions her smile started to fade. Skye caught her breath and looked at the two older agents from her position on the ground confused.

"What," Skye breathed, but a moment later she realized what she had said, "Oh... I-I didn't mean- if that was-"

Skye was cut off when May hugged her. Skye visibly relaxed and returned the hug with a relieved smile. While in a foster home, Skye had called the foster mother mom and received a punishment for it. Ever since then Skye never made the mistake of calling a foster parent mom or dad. It was why calling May, mom was difficult, even if it was just the two of them.

"Sorry," May said releasing Skye, "I just… I'm still not used to the title. It surprised me."

Skye grinned gently, "More surprising than the great Agent May who chased me around the BUS in order to tickle me… We are both surprising people."

 **(Flashback Over)**

Skye woke up in May's arms. A smile spread across her face, May had stayed with her through the night and the nightmares had gone away.

"Morning," May said when she saw Skye's eyes open, "You sleep okay?"

Skye nodded and said sheepishly, "T-Thanks for staying with me last night." May smiled, "Anytime."

"Do you have anywhere to be right now," Skye asked hesitantly.

May shook her head, "No. I have nothing else going on."

"Good because I'm really comfortable," Skye said, "And I don't really want you to go, just yet."

"Whatever makes you happy," May told her.

Skye had never been able to do anything like this before. To stay in bed wrapped in her mother's arms, knowing she would be there when she woke up. It was the best feeling in the world. The little girl inside Skye was jumping with joy even if her adult self was embarrassed. May was happy to. Being able to comfort her daughter made her the happiest woman alive.

"Do you want to talk about it," May asked after a few more moments of silence.

Skye tensed in her arms and said, "Not really, but…. I was back in the basement. It was empty and really dark with only the moonlight from the window…. There were two figures, by the wall.. It was you and me..." Skye took a shaky breath recalling the dream, "You were holding me, trying to get me to wake up, but I wouldn't. I tried to say something, but when I opened my mouth the scene changed… I saw the team, all of you were on the ground.. you weren't breathing and I-I tried to get you guys to wake up, but y-you were all gone."

Skye bit her lip, "I stood up and when I turned around Quinn was there and he shot me. He told me, "It's all your fault. Nothing you do is ever good enough, you finally found something only to let them get killed. Death follows you and that is why no one would ever come for you Skye."

May put her hand under Skye's chin, forcing her to look at her. Tears were swimming in Skye's eyes as she looked up at her mother.

"That's not true, the team and I will _always_ come for you. I will _always_ be there for you Skye," May told her firmly, "You are my girl and no one, I mean _no one_ will stand in the way of me getting you if you need me. I love you so much Skye, words cannot express how much you mean to me. I will always be there for you, okay?"

Skye blinked the tears away, "Promise, promise you'll never go away?"

May nodded, "I promise Skye. I'll always be there for you."

Skye nodded, "I l-love you mom."

May kissed Skye's forehead and held her daughter close. Skye relaxed in May's arms, her mom was here, she was alive and she wasn't leaving. It was all okay. After a few minutes of silence, Coulson came in and the sight before him made him smile.

"Hey," he said softly, "How are my girls?"

"Your girls," May scoffed.

Coulson took a seat in the empty chair, "Yep."

Skye chuckled, "Aww that's sweet. What brings you to our humble abode A.C.?"

Coulson shrugged, "Wanted to make sure you were doing alright." Skye nodded and glanced at May, "I'm doing okay."

May smiled gently at Skye. Even though May hasn't known Skye for very long and they were still working through their relationship, she could never imagine life without her. The very idea of not seeing Skye smile, or hear her voice made May's chest ache. This time she was lucky, but would that same luck follow her to the next big problem? May didn't know. However she knew no matter what she would give her life just so Skye could breathe.

"Glad to hear it," Coulson said with a smile.

"Tell me," Skye said, "What else did I miss? Anything exciting?"

"May broke Quinn's face," Coulson smirked remembering it well.

Skye gaped and looked at May, "The calm and collected Agent May broke billionaire Ian Quinn's face?"

May rolled her eyes, "He did shoot you. I would have broken a lot more than his face if Coulson hadn't come in when he did."

Skye smiled cheekily at the idea of her mother beating the crap out of Quinn.

"Such a shame to," Coulson said, "I would have loved for you to have taken a few more swings."

Skye grinned, "Warms my heart... You know what sounds really good right now?"

May asked, "What?"

"Food," Skye replied, "I'm starving."

Coulson laughed, "I'll get you something the Dr approves. Be back in a bit."

Coulson got up and walked back upstairs to find something Simmons would approve of. She had made list of food Skye could eat on the counter incase she was busy and couldn't answer that question in person. Coulson fixed Skye toast and water, it was light enough so it wouldn't upset her stomach. Although she hadn't shown any signs of nausea, Coulson wanted to be on the safe side.

He brought the food down and spent the next half hour with May and Skye in the pod. Skye cracking her jokes, Coulson telling stories while May watched them. This was truly a sight she would cherish for years to come.

Ward had spent his morning training. Ever since Skye had been hurt, he had been acting out of sorts. It was expected of course. After all, he wasn't the only one acting different. Simmons was anxious and Fitz was quieter than usual. Ward plugged his headphones in and continued to listen to his music while he punched the punching bag. Unfortunately for the specialist he forgot to tape his knuckles, but he was too distracted to care. He imagined the punching bag was Ian Quinn. If he ever saw that man again, he would surely have several punches with him.

After his punching session, Ward went upstairs to take a shower and decided he would visit Skye after. He really needed to see her, but at the same time, he was worried to see her. Seeing her hurt like that, almost losing her, made him realize his feelings for her were stronger than he planned. However he had to wonder. Was it such a bad thing?

Fitz-Simmons spent most their time in the lab running test on Skye's blood. Simmons really wanted to find out what was in that wonder drug, but was hitting and a missing. Since yesterday, Simmons had taken five samples of Skye's blood and still found nothing. It was incredibly frustrating. Fitz wasn't too focused on searching through Skye's blood. He was too worried about her and guilty over what happened.

Despite what the other's said he believed it was his fault because he let her go alone. He would make it up to her though, he just didn't know how yet.

Around ten, May got out of bed to take a shower and grab a quick bite to eat before heading back down. She went to her bunk first and grabbed a fresh pair clothes. For a few minutes she sat on her bunk and pulled the locket Cal had given her all those years ago. May opened the locket and played with the edge of the picture of her and Cal on New Years. Behind the picture was a name, a name May knew very well.

Once she lifted the small corner enough she could see the engraving. When she had first gotten the locket, she knew it looked familiar, but after she saw the engraving she finally knew why. An old relative of sorts had this locket. It made her wonder how Cal had gotten it, but his last words before he lost it played in her mind. _I made a promise to someone we both care about I would protect you with my life. That's exactly what I'm going to do._

May still had questions, but she knew she would never get the answers she wanted. Besides it wasn't important anymore. Cal was gone and she hoped he would never come back. Their last encounter had not gone well, he told May he would find her and their daughter. May took it as a threat, but deep down she knew it wasn't supposed to be. May sighed, she pressed the picture back in place and closed the locket. After her shower she would give back to Skye, it was hers and Quinn had no right to take it from her. Quinn had no right to do anything at all. If May ever saw him again, she would let loose like she did before.

When she saw Quinn hold it up... her heart had truly stopped beating and fear was the only thing keeping her awake. Skye hadn't taken the locket off since she gotten it. Seeing Quinn have it in his bloody hand made her panic. However that was the past and Skye was going to be okay. She just needed to focus on that. May looked at her small monitor to see Skye lying in bed, her headphones on, eyes closed as she mouthed the words to whatever song was playing. The sight made her smile. May laid down with the locket in hand as she stared at the ceiling when Coulson walked in.

"How are you holding up," he asked.

May smiled, "I'm fine. Are you?"

Coulson leaned against her door and said, "I'm doing alright. About last night… you know I meant what I said right."

May sat up to look at Coulson and said, "I know. I meant it too."

Coulson looked into May's brown eyes. There was so much he wanted to say, but no words left his lips. The one phrase they would finish for the other, held all the words they'd never said before. Every I love you, every I need you was hidden in that one phrase.

"Is this how it's always going to be," Coulson asked softly.

May didn't need him to clarify. She knew exactly what he was talking and she wondered it to. Both of them had feelings for the other. Both of them knew the other felt something toward them. It was a matter of actually saying it out loud that neither of them could do. Admitting it, made it seem more real. That was something neither of them were ready for.

"I don't know," May answered honestly, "but I hope not."

It wasn't definite, but it was a start.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"The one where I always win?"

"I'm afraid you're stuck with me.

"What did I say?"

"Where is Coulson anyway?"

"Fine doesn't look like this."


	23. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hey guys sorry for the wait, but I lost internet in my apartment for a couple days, needless to say I went back to the Dark Ages for a little while. *Hint Hint* And now I have returned from the medieval times to bring you all tale from centuries ago. Involving a sorceress, warrior and some agents to help on a with hunt. Also in less than two months Agents of SHIELD will be back on TV and I am so excited! Okay, bye my agents.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Two**

 **A Few Days Later**

Skye was _so_ bored. Being stuck in bed and in this med pod was awful, especially since she couldn't get on her laptop now or phone. Her laptop was still charging after she spent the past six hours on it and her phone. Well May took her phone saying she needed to do something other than stare at the screen all day. She needed to do something. Honestly she needed anything to do other than count the ceiling tiles, again.

Simmons and May weren't around so she took a chance and lifted the covers off of her. Carefully she sat up and brought her legs off the bed and let them drape over edge. Her feet were almost on the floor when she heard tapping on the class behind her followed by an accent.

"No," Simmons cried, "What did I say?"

Skye muttered bitterly, "Damn it, every time."

Simmons walked in and Skye said, "It's like you have a sensor every time my butt leaves the bed."

"Back in it," Simmons instructed.

"I just want to stretch my legs," Skye complained.

"Now," Simmons said ignoring her.

Both Simmons and May refused to ever let Skye leave the bed. Whenever she tried, May would appear out of nowhere and tell her to get back in it or Simmons would walk in and tell her to get back in it. Coulson let her get away with it once when he visited her, but that was it.

Skye tapped her cheek, "Look! There's color in my cheeks. Breathing without... feeling like my whole body's on fire. I'm good."

Simmons gaped at Skye as she crawled back in the bed, " _Good_ is not the appropriate word to describe your state. You've been shot twice, had your stomach perforated, and a breathing tube shoved down your throat. Better is the more accurate word."

Simmons hated that Skye wasn't taking her recovery as seriously as she should. Even though her healing time would be cut short, that didn't stop her from worrying about side effects. She started to take some of Skye's blood again as her friend got settles. Skye had noticed all the blood she was taking and was curious as to why she was doing it.

"Again with the blood drive, I'm not going to have any left," Skye teased, "Not sure how I feel about Dr Simmons, she's so strict. Ow and pokey."

Simmons sighed, "Well patient Skye is unruly.. and stubborn."

"And grateful," Skye added with a smile, "I hope you know that."

"I didn't do it alone," Simmons told her.

Skye smiled, "Still, I'm the most grateful-est-est patient alive."

Simmons chuckled, "That's not even a word."

The girls laughed when Ward knocked on the door.

He asked, "Hey this a bad time?"

Skye sat up and winced before saying, "It is if you're here to bust me out." In a terrible British accent she said, "The warden has extended house arrest."

Simmons scoffed, "Ugh awful accent."

Once SImmons was gone, Skye groaned, "I must look terrible, Simmons won't even bring me a mirror."

"I've seen worse," Ward replied.

Skye raised her eyebrows in mock offense, "Wow, thanks."

Ward stuttered, "I-I mean you look better than when you were dying."

"Swinging and a missing Ward," Skye laughed lightly.

Who knew Ward could be such a terrible flirt?

Ward grinned, "Well it's great to see you better. I was worried and I made a new rule as your S.O. Next time you scare me like that, you will have to do 100 pull ups."

Skye gaped in surprise, "I scared the great and fearless Agent Ward enough to deserve the punishment of 100 pull ups? Wow, that's got to be a record."

Ward laughed lightly and Skye kind of liked the sound. It was silent for a moment before Skye said softly, "It was so stupid to go in there alone."

"Hey," Ward said, "There's no point in doing that now. You were brave. Thanks to you, every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the country knows Mike Peterson's alive."

Skye felt her heart ache at the mention of Mike, "You tell them about his magic leg?"

Ward sighed, "I didn't call it that, but yes I told them about it. Agent Garrett's running point on Mike. We think he's part of some project called Deathlok."

Skye frowned remembering Mike, "He looked like death…. You should have... He wouldn't even look at me. They did something to him, something bad and he needs help."

"He's past help," Ward said flatly, "He was there with you, Skye... could have protected you. He let this happen to you… and I'll never forgive that."

Skye gaped and shook her head, "Well, I-I need to better protect myself, so... when Simmons gives the all-clear, we'll start training."

"We'll ease you back into it," Ward replied, but Skye wouldn't have that.

"No," Skye said, "I want to train harder. Next time, I don't want to depend on some miracle drug to save me."

"And you won't have to," Ward told her, "Once you've healed enough, then we can train harder. For now rest and build up your strength."

Skye didn't like that answer, but she knew her S.O. was right. If she wanted to train harder, she needed to heal first and that would take time. When she got better she would train with Ward and ask her mom to help train her as well. This way she would be ready for anything. At least she hoped so.

Ward watched Skye for a moment before pulling out their board game, "I brought your favorite game."

Skye saw it and her eyes lit up as she laughed, "The one where I always win?"

"You do not always win," Ward retorted with a smile as he sat down.

"In Battleship, I always win," Skye said with a smile.

Ward pulled the night table over and cleared the items to make space for the game. He handed her, her pieces and the game began. Ward knew Skye was struggling, even if she was doing a good job at hiding it, he could tell. No one walks away from a near death or almost death experience and come out the same. Ward decided he would be with Skye every step of the way and help her in any way he could, even if she didn't want his help.

As Skye put her pieces in place she thought about the chat she just had with Ward. Even though she still felt weak, she really wanted to start training again. Being so helpless made her realize if she really wanted to become an agent, she needed to be ready for anything. Hopefully with the help from Ward and her mother, she could be ready for anything that came her way.

"B7," Ward said and Skye only smiled.

Coulson had taken a few personal days the day after he saw Skye and May in the pod. He had been calling old friends hoping any of them could help him find the answers he needed. Today he was meeting another friend asking for a favor. While he waited, his thoughts were plagued with the drug and Skye. He needed to find Fury and get answers to the questions he'd been asking.

Unfortunately, Fury went off grid and all the favor's Coulson had called in were not enough. If he wanted answers, he had two options. Either keep digging and hope to find something or wait for Fury to find him. Meanwhile back at the BUS, the team got word of someone from Asgard had touch downed near Nevada and they were the welcome wagon.

"New orders," May said once everyone was in the command center, "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s detecting massive energy readings in the skies above the California/Nevada border."

"Any cause that we know of," Ward questioned.

Simmons answered, "These are the same readings Dr. Selvig and Dr. Foster picked up in New Mexico and in London. They herald the arrival of an Asgardian."

"Thor," Fitz asked.

May replied, "Not sure. Either way, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants us to be the welcome wagon."

Fitz nodded, but he looked worried, "O-okay. Fine. No cause for concern, right? Asgardians are allies."

"Loki wasn't," Ward stated, "We don't know anything about who touch downed, we need to approach this with caution like always. When do we leave?"

"Me, you and Fitz are going to drive down with some reinforcements to investigate," May explained, "Simmons you'll stay here, Coulson will be back later on and you can explain to him what's happened if he doesn't already know."

Simmons nodded and Ward asked, "Where is Coulson anyway? Haven't seen these past few days."

"Personal time," May said flatly, "Alright, Fitz, Ward get what you need. We leave in ten."

With that, Fitz-Simmons went to the lab while Ward went to his bunk to get items. May went downstairs to Skye's pod to inform her what was going on. She knew Skye wasn't going to be happy about skipping out on this mission, but she didn't have a choice. May explained to her what was going on and when she was done, she saw a look in Skye's eyes that put her on edge.

What else was going on in Skye's head?

"Hopefully who dropped down is friendly," Skye said softly, "You'll be careful?"

May replied, "You don't have to worry about me Skye. I'll be fine."

"You can't guarantee that," Skye muttered not looking at May, "I know it's childish, but…"

May sighed, "Skye look at me."

When Skye didn't move, May leaned forward and held Skye's chin making the young girl look at her, "It's not childish, there is always a risk. I won't lie to you about that, but I made a promise to you that I will always be there. I intend to keep that promise."

Skye nodded slowly, but she didn't look convinced. May didn't know what else to say because Skye was right. There was no guarantee she would be okay after this mission, there was never a guarantee about anything.

Of course Skye knew her mom could handle anything, it didn't mean she wasn't worried about her. After all anything could happen.

May smiled at Skye softly and said, "I'll be fine Skye. My love is strong and close to you. All throughout the day-"

"Heart in hand, always near and will never go away," Skye whispered.

Together they said, "And never let go."

May smiled, "I'll see you later, okay."

Skye nodded, "See you later."

On the way to the previous drop site, May, Fitz and Ward ran into another Asgardian and she came with a warning. Her name was Lady Sif and she fought alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. in a previous battle between this world and Asgard.

They brought her back to the BUS where they could question her and get their where abouts for this situation and who they were up against. Coulson and May were standing by the railing, watching as Ward and Fitz escorted her in.

"She's a warrior," Coulson said, "I saw her fight in New Mexico with Thor, climbed a giant metal killing machine, speared it with her double-bladed sword. It was pretty badass."

May chuckled then said, "She says she needs S.H.I.E.L.D. to help her find someone. You up for this?"

Coulson knew what she meant and told her, "I'm fine."

" _Fine_ doesn't look like this," May told him, "Not on you." May took a step closer to Coulson, "You've been gone more often than not. Whatever's bothering you... I'm here."

Coulson gave her a gentle smile, "I know you are."

Coulson and May headed downstairs to greet Lady Sif. She was shocked to see Coulson, especially since Thor told her he had died by Loki. He had seen it happen with his own eyes.

"What dark magic is this," she asked, "Thor said you perished at the hand of Loki."

"And he was right... for awhile, anyway," Coulson said, "But Loki wasn't the only one with some tricks up his sleeve. Turns out, S.H.I.E.L.D. had a few of their own."

Lady Sif nodded with a small smile, "Thor will be pleased to hear it. He considers you a friend."

Coulson smiled nostalgically, "I feel the same, which is why I'd prefer he hear it from me, if that's okay... I understand you're looking for someone."

"I am hunting her," Lady Sif replied, "Lorelei. 600 years ago, she used her powers to wreak havoc across the nine realms, to command armies, bring down kings, empires."

Ward asked, "What of powers are we talking? Strength, speed?"

Lady Sif shook her head to both, "Sorcery. She bends and shapes the will of men to her own purpose."

"Only men," May asked with one eyebrow raised, "Her powers don't work on women?"

"No," Lady Sif replied, "Men have an inherent weakness we do not share."

May smirked, but didn't say anything.

"I can't imagine what she's talking about," Fitz muttered to Ward.

"The very sound of her voice can ensnare most. For the rare man who can resist it's her voice joined by her touch that will overpower his will," Lady Sif told them.

"So how do we stop her," Coulson asked.

Lady Sif pulled out a golden collar of sorts and said, "With this. It prevents her from speaking. She wore one like it for centuries while locked in prison. She escaped when the dark elves invaded Asgard. She came her through one of Loki's secret passageways between worlds."

"Do we know where she is now," Ward asked, his arms folded over his chest.

"All I know is Bifrost delivered me to her last known location," Lady Sif told them.

Coulson spoke next, "Mostly small towns out that way. Let's start looking for unusual activity within a few hundred mile radius. Burglary, theft, assault… If this woman's used to ruling empires, she's going to be hard to please."

Coulson brought the Lady Sif upstairs to do a search on police reports in the past 48 hours. If Lorelei was looking to rule, she would need weapons and a lot of men. Coulson asked Lady Sif about blue aliens out there and she mentioned there were some, but none had been to their world. He would have asked more, but they found a hit. Lady Sif confirmed what Lorelei was doing. Her army was definitely starting to be built.

Ward had tracked her down to a biker bar, from there May, Coulson, Lady Sif, Ward and back up would go in. However before they could pack up, Ward went down to visit Skye. He could only imagine how upset she was not being able to help on the mission.

"Hey," he said as he leaned against the door frame.

Skye smiled, "Hey, what brings the T-1000 here?"

Ward chuckled, "Came to see you before we went out on the mission. I know you don't like to sit out, but in no time, you'll be out there with us."

"I hope so," Skye sighed, "Too bad Thor hadn't dropped down with the Asgardian upstairs."

Ward rolled his eyes remembering Skye's description of Thor, "Perhaps one day you'll meet him. As for now."

Skye groaned, "Wait let me guess, stay in bed, rest, build up your strength and listen to Simmons. My mom already beat you to the lecture."

"Yeah I bet," Ward replied with a smile.

Skye frowned, "Sorry for not telling you guys about it. We planned to, but we were just waiting."

"No worries, Fitz-Simmons and I understood why you two kept it a secret. I'm happy you guys found each other," Ward said softly.

Skye smiled, she didn't know much about Ward's past except he had issues with his older brother and his parents weren't around. She had wanted to ask him more about it, but was waiting for the right time. Now certainly wasn't the time.

"Be safe out there, I don't want to go looking for a new S.O." Skye teased, even though she was serious about him being safe.

Ward grinned, "I'm afraid you're stuck with me. Bye rookie."

* * *

 **Teaser**

"I'd take out my main threat."

"Get out of her way."

"But I prefer to use my hands."

"I know that face."

"Like a pod person?"


	24. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hello my awesome agents! I've got some news, since I started school on Thursday and have taken a look at sports and school schedule, it looks like writing is going to have to sit in the back seat. Don't worry I'm not stopping the story or putting it on Hiatus, no that's crazy talk. My updates are going to be everyday Saturday afternoon- night. One chapter every week. I know it's long, but sadly school must come first I want to do well this year so now I have a schedule for fanfiction. Okay that's all.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Three**

Coulson, May, Ward and Lady Sif arrived at the scene with their back up ready for a fight. There was no telling how strong Lorelei was or how many men she had already started to control. However the police who they had contacted were already under her spell. Once they got past the officers outside, Sif went in to take out those men and she did a lot more than take them out. She fought them all, but Lorelei fled the scene and found Ward in the back.

"You're a fine warrior," Lorelei said behind Ward.

He turned around and pointed the ICER at her, "I am. Now put your hands behind your back and get on your knees."

"Men kneel before me," Lorelei replied, "I do not bow to them."

Ward felt the urge to lower his gun, but he pushed it aside. "Gonna need some back-up over here," Ward said through the comms.

Lorelei touched his arm, "That is not what you need."

Ward only stared at Lorelei trying to fight off her persuasion, but he started to lower the ICER. Suddenly everything went blurry, but clear as glass to him. Lorelei had Ward take her somewhere else, in her words a place deserving of a ruler.

Coulson and the others left the scene to come up with a plan. The backup went looking for Ward and Lorelei, while Coulson, Lady Sif and May returned to the BUS. The collar had been damaged in the fight, but Coulson wasn't too worried about that. He knew an engineer who was quite resourceful and had an interest with Asgardian tech. Fitz-Simmons were on either side Skye's bed when Coulson told them news.

"So Ward's what," Skye asked, "Like a pod person?"

"No, according to Lady Sif the men Lorelei controls don't forget who they are or what they know. She just becomes the embodiment of all their desires," Coulson tried to explain, even though he didn't completely understand.

"So once we find them we can break her mojo or whatever and get Ward back, right," Skye asked worriedly.

Coulson nodded, "Yes, once the collar's back on Lorelei's neck the enchantment ends, but that's the problem. The collar got a shotgun blast back in the desert. Think you can fix it?"

Coulson gave the collar to FItz who examined it, "Well the metal, the weight, it's similar to the berserker staff."

"But it presents its own set of countless unknown variables," Simmons pointed out.

"You got a couple hours," Coulson told him.

Fitz nodded and left the pod. If he only had a couple hours he needed to get to work.

"What can I do," Skye asked, "And don't you dare say nothing or tell me to sit down here and count the ceiling tiles while Ward is missing."

Coulson sighed, "Ward's got dropboxes and storage lockers all over the world. They're filled with currency weapons, I.D.s. He's going to use aliases, cash anything to keep Lorelei off the radar. You're the best radar we have, find them."

Skye nodded and went to work while Simmons followed Coulson out into the hall. She hadn't been able to find anything with only the resources on the BUS and she wanted to know why Coulson wouldn't let her send a sample to HQ. Surely with their resources they would find out the mysteries of this GH-325. Coulson told her it needed to stay in house because the drug had been kept hidden through extreme measures and they didn't know why. Until then, the drug stayed hidden. Besides they needed to focus on the mission and get Ward back.

May had been wandering around the BUS for a little while and making sure everything was ready to go when they next went out. After her trek she went down to see Lady Sif and they had a nice chat.

May walked in to see Sif sharpen her sword and asked, "May I?"

Sif nodded and handed her the doubt blade. May had learned to use swords many years ago before the academy and during her stay there. Actually she was quite skilled with them along with an assortment of other weapons.

Sif noticed the way she handled the sword and asked her, "You have experience with swords?"

"Yes," May replied, "But I prefer to use my hands."

"Admirable, but be warned ... Loreles quite skilled at combat," Sif told her.

May took a seat, after a moment she asked, "Then why co-opt men? Why have them fight for her?"

Sif let out a long sigh, "Well...I believe it gives her a thrill... Especially if the man is already taken. And, besides, even the best warrior needs an army to conquer an empire." Sif paused for a moment before continuing, "So her pattern remains. She attaches herself to the strongest warrior she can find and then unleashes a swath of blood and destruction."

May swallowed at that, "The man she's with... Ward, he's as lethal as any. One of our best."

"You care for him," Sif questioned, but it sounded like a statement to May.

"Not in the way you think, but someone I know cares for him, close to that way," May said remembering what Skye said to her a few nights ago.

 _Ward is really great, I'd have to say I do have somewhat of a crush on him. Not in a way of, 'oh my gosh he is so hot and amazing.' No, not like that, but I wouldn't mind getting to know him better than I do now._

"I understand," Sif replied, "A man I once cared for went under her spell, forsook his family, friends, me. Agent Ward is no longer the man you knew, he will not hesitate to kill you. The one you speak of or any of you here."

"He won't hurt them," May said and before Sif could respond, she went on, "He might try to hurt them, but he won't get close enough."

Coulson walked in, "Security cameras just caught sight of them, if Lorelei wants an army of wealth and pliable men, I think she just hit the jackpot."

Coulson took a team to their last location which was in Vegas. The went to the hotel they were in and searched their suite only to find it clear. Ward and Lorelei were long gone. Fitz tracked all the cities cameras and informed them once they returned, that there was no sign of them. However he started running satellite to expand the search and he fixed the neck collar.

After the one trip lead to nothing new, they all returned to the BUS and would wait to see what Ward and Lorelei's next move would be. Fitz brought Sif to the cage to inspect it and she was impressed with his work. Unfortunately, he trapped her inside while she wasn't paying attention. Sif started to pound her fist into the wall. When May and Coulson heard the banging, May had an answer for Coulson's question.

"I wouldn't run," she said, "I'd take out my main threat."

The BUS was starting to take off, Ward and Lorelei were here. Simmons and Skye felt the take off and knew that wasn't a good sign.

"We're taking off," Simmons stated, "Why are we taking off?"

"What is that pounding," Skye asked, confused about where it was coming from.

"I'll investigate," SImmons said, "And you-"

"Stay put, I know," Skye muttered.

However when Simmons tried to leave, the door was locked, "Someone locked us in."

Meanwhile upstairs, Coulson tried to get to Sif and the girls, but unfortunately Fitz was in the way. Coulson needed a new plan. May went straight for the cockpit, she wanted her plane back, now.

"Aren't you the brave one," Lorelei said when she saw May.

May growled at her, "You took my plane, I want it back."

Lorelei scoffed, "Well we can't always get what we want…. actually I can."

Lorelei knocked May down with one punch to the jaw. She was Asgardian with ten times the strength and speed of May. The only one who could really take her down was Sif and she was unreachable at the moment. When May recovered, Ward appeared at Lorelei's side. Great.

"I will retrieve Sif's sword," Lorelei said, "It will look better in my hand."

May glared at Sif then turned to Ward, "You don't want to do this."

"This was the plan," Ward replied indifferently, "Cross of Sif, take the plane and eliminate anyone in our way." He pulled out a gun and pointed it at May, "Get out of her way."

May didn't flinch, "It's her plan, not yours. Fight it, you're a fighter. What about Skye?"

There was a flicker in Ward's eyes, but it quickly went away when Lorelei spoke.

"This is the warrior, with the heart of ice you mentioned," Lorelei said then kissed Ward and when they broke she spoke again, "His heart beats in concert with mine, mine alone. Not even this Skye you speak of will break it."

Lorelei walked away leaving May and Ward alone to fight. This wasn't going to end well. Coulson went downstairs to find Simmons and Skye trapped in the pod. He unlocked it and had them open the cage since apparently Ward opened the air duct before. But Sif was still out there and she could get back inside. Lorelei went to the cage and was met by Sif. Simmons went upstairs, but got caught by Fitz and he alerted Ward saying they had problem.

May used this to her advantage and got the gun away from Ward. Simmons brought Fitz down to the lab where Coulson knocked him out. After a hard fight, May and Ward were lying in glass next to each other. Ward had the gun pointed at her clicked it, but May had taken the bullets out and after a few seconds, Ward woke up from his trance. When Sif walked out with Lorelei to confirm, May still punched him in the face.

Ward nodded as he rubbed his jaw, "Yeah... yeah I deserved that."

May took a breath, "Got that right."

Shortly after Sif and Lorelei left, May and Coulson talked. May knew something bigger was going on with Coulson than he was leading on and she was worried. Although she knew it had something to do with what he saw down at the guest house, she wasn't sure what else would have given him this reaction. However she didn't need to know the details, she just didn't want him to suffer. She didn't want him to be so worried about whatever he saw down there.

May told him, "If you won't talk to me about it, talk to Skye. She should know about what you saw down there."

"And you shouldn't know," Coulson asked with one eyebrow slightly raised.

May shrugged, "I know enough. It saved Skye's life, to me that's all that matter's. Speaking of which, I better go see her. But first I need to talk to Ward."

Coulson nodded and watched May walk upstairs. Ward could not believe the past two days he had, had. Being controlled by Lorelei, not being able to do anything, but focus on a woman he didn't know. It made him sick.

He was sitting in the cockpit, he wanted to talk to May since he had fired a gun at her. Even if the bullets weren't inside, he hadn't known that and he still pulled the trigger. Had she not taken out the bullets, she would be dead and Skye would never forgive him for that. May walked in and Ward had a heart attack.

"I say to call it even, you punch me in the face, repeatedly," Ward said.

May scoffed, "Wouldn't accomplish much."

Ward sighed defeated, "I shot you."

"There were no bullets," May pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Ward replied, "I pulled the trigger. Had you not taken out those bullets, you wouldn't be here now."

"It's in the past, I'll get you for it later," May said with a slight smirk, "It happened and now it's over."

Ward sighed then cleared his throat, "You mentioned Skye while I was-"

"You have feelings for her," May interrupted matter of factly.

Ward hesitated for awhile before speaking, "Is it obvious?"

May shook her head, "Fitz-Simmons and Skye seem clueless, Coulson I'm not sure, but I can tell."

"You're okay with it," Ward asked after a moments of silence.

May wasn't sure, but she replied, "As long as you don't hurt her. You and I both know it would end very badly for you. That's my only warning, if she gets hurt because of you..."

Ward inhaled, "Understood… are we okay?"

May nodded, "Get some rest, you've had a long day."

Ward chuckled before leaving the cockpit and heading to his bunk. He really wanted to go to bed.

Meanwhile in the med pod, Skye and Fitz-Simmons were talking. Skye was standing really she was leaning against her bed beside Simmons while Fitz looked at his eye.

"I'm not saying _you_ were weak," Simmons said, "I'm saying _all_ men are weak."

Coulson walked in and Fitz said, "Sir. I understand why you had to punch me. I forgive you."

Coulson gave him a soft smile, "Thank you Fitz. Can I have a word with Skye, alone?"

Fitz-Simmons nodded and left the med pod. Skye took a seat on the bed while Coulson shut the door. Once he faced her, Skye got worried.

"I know that face," she said, "Something gives me the feeling I should be sitting down for this. Am I right?"

Coulson sighed, "I've been looking for a way to tell you this, looking around for some answers, something to help explain….. but I don't have any."

Skye's brow furrowed, "What is it?"

"The drug, the one that saved us both when we found it, I discovered something else. Its source. It was... alien," Coulson told her.

Skye paused for a moment then asked, "Alien, as in... unfamiliar?"

"No," Coulson replied.

"Wow," Skye breathed with slightly wide eyes.

Coulson sighed, "The minute I learned what it was, I tried to keep them from injecting you with it, but I was too late. I'm so sorry, Skye."

"You were trying to save my life," Skye pointed out, "You did save my life."

"I was desperate to, and so I subjected you to unknown ramifications or side effects," Coulson said exasperated.

Skye shook her head, "I'm sorry to say this, sir, but... so what? We are alive. And you've had that stuff in you for... uh, some time now, and you're okay, right? Plus, you're not sprouting a pointy tail or anything, so bonus there."

Coulson was shocked, "I know nothing fazes you, but this should faze you. We are completely in the dark on this."

"That's where we live," Skye breathed, "I'm an 0-8-4. You don't know what that means, my mother doesn't know what that means- Who knows what the hell that means?- At least we're in the dark together."

"Yes, but not for long," Coulson said sternly, "To hell with any protocols or any code I used to be bound by. We have a long list of questions we need answers for, and we're going after them ourselves."

Skye nodded, "Well, I mean if my mom and the team's up for it…"

"No," Coulson interrupted, "No, listen to me. I trust them, but we need to protect them from this. Fury went to dangerous lengths to keep this under wraps ... lied to me, lied to S.H.I.E.L.D. This is a powerful secret, a secret men died for. Until we know why, we can't share this with anyone, for their safety and ours. Got it."

Skye swallowed, she hated secrets, but she nodded, "So, what'll it be, A.C.? What do we go after first?"

Coulson pointed to Skye's stomach, "The person responsible for this. And we make him pay."

Once the plane was in air, May went downstairs to her locker. She opened the door and pulled out a phone on an enrypted line. She scanned her thumb and waited and once she heard the encrypted line secure, she spoke.

"Agent Melinda May. Update log 93. He knows. I repeat... Coulson knows."

* * *

 **Teaser**

"I've always liked this view."

"That is not true."

"I remember what you said to me."

 **"** You talk to Skye?"


	25. Chapter 24

**A/N: I love my agents!**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Four**

After May finished her log, she went back upstairs and ran into Coulson outside the command center.

"You talk to Skye," May asked even though she already knew the answer.

Coulson nodded, "Sort of. Right now I have something else on my mind."

May raised an eyebrow, "What might that be?"

"I need to talk to the other higher ups and soon," Coulson told her.

Now May was curious, "What are you up to Coulson?"

May knew something else was going besides what she heard him tell Skye. However she wasn't sure what else there was. If he wanted after Quinn, then he could go to the Fridge. Why did he have to talk to the higher ups?

Coulson took a breath, May could see right through him as always. A part of him wanted to tell May his plans, but at the same time. He thought it would be best she didn't know.

"Tomorrow," Coulson said softly, "Right now I think it's best everyone get some sleep."

May nodded, "I think that would be best."

Without another word, May walked past Coulson and went downstairs. She walked through the halls until she came by Skye's pod. Skye was standing by the night table with her headphones in and nodding her head to the beat of the song she was listening to. Every time May saw Skye with her headphones in mouthing the words or moving to the music it made her happy.

Sometimes she imagined finding a younger Skye in her pj's dancing to music in the mornings. If only... May smiled at the thought and watched Skye for a minute longer, until she turned around. Skye jumped slightly, but her surprised expression quickly turned into a happy face. Skye took out her headphones as May walked in.

Skye said, "Good to know you are not only watching me through monitors, but through windows. A little old school don't you think?"

May laughed at that, "Maybe, but I came to check on you. How's your stomach?"

Skye put her hands on her abdomen and smiled, "It's all good. I can stand and move around a little more without it hurting so much."

May smiled, "That's good."

Skye sighed and gave May a soft look, "Are you okay? Ward came down here briefly and told me about some things that happened. He didn't get far, he left a minute before Fitz-Simmons arrived to go to the cockpit."

"I'm fine, he didn't break anything," May told her with a slight smile.

Skye was biting her bottom lip and May knew she was nervous about something. However May wouldn't bring it up. She had a feeling Skye was nervous about what Coulson talked to her about. Even though she didn't sound too worried when May listened to them.

"Get some sleep," May said softly.

"You didn't point out my lip biting," Skye said suddenly.

May nodded, "I know. Coulson told me he talked to you. He said sort of so I'm assuming he told you what he saw down there."

Skye only nodded, but didn't say anything which made May smile. She wouldn't push Skye on this, she would pretend to be as clueless as possible without being obvious.

"Whatever it was," May started, "Must have been shocking. However I don't care, it saved your life and that's all that matters to me."

"Coulson did tell me about it," Skye admitted, choosing her words carefully, "Nothing to bad."

May replied, "Good to hear. It's late and you need to get some sleep."

Skye sat on the bed and asked softly, "Will you stay until I fall asleep?"

May nodded, "Are the nightmares still bothering you?"

Skye brought her gaze down to the floor. She hates feeling so helpless and afraid of bad dreams.

Skye admitted, "Yes. Hopefully they will go away completely, even when you can't be here to watch me like some scared kid."

"You had a traumatic experience," May told her, "It's okay to still be afraid and I don't mind, you are my kid."

Skye continued to look at the floor, "I just wish I wasn't so afraid."

May took a step closer to Skye and said, "It will take time, but you will get past this. You're strong Skye."

Skye looked up at May with glossy eyes, "I wasn't strong in that basement."

"That is not true," May said sternly.

"It is true," Skye protested, "I've seen you and Ward take out ten guys on your own. I couldn't get past one man-"

"A man who had you at gunpoint," May interrupted sternly.

"Yeah, who took me out," Skye cried, "Had it not been for this GT-625 or whatever it's called, I wouldn't be here. I'm here on luck and not because I could help myself. I'm not strong, I was weak and stupid."

May held Skye's chin and looked into her eyes as she said, "That is not true. I don't ever want to hear you talk like this again. You did what any of us would have done. Skye you are an incredible young woman who I could not be more proud of. You did what you could. I know it may not feel like it now, but you are strong, talented and capable of many things. Don't you ever, _ever_ , think of yourself as anything less."

Skye tried to fight the tears in her eyes, but they fell down her cheeks anyway. No one has ever spoken about her in this way before and it made her so happy. To know her mom saw her this way, as someone to be proud of. May saw the tears and pulled Skye into her arms. Skye buried her face into May's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"I was so terrified," Skye sobbed, "I've never felt so helpless before. I never want to feel that way again M, I can't do it. I just can't."

May held Skye tightly as she whispered, "I know and you won't ever have to go through something like that again as long as I'm here. Together we will get through this, okay."

Skye nodded into May's shoulder as more tears fell down her cheeks. May hated to see Skye so broken like this, but she was at a low. It would take some time before Skye was fully back to herself and even then she wouldn't be the same. Experiences like this leave people scarred, physically, emotionally, sometimes both.

"Do you really mean what you said about me," Skye mumbled after a minute of silence.

May replied, "Every word. I'm proud of you Skye, of the person you became. I wish I could have been there and I'm sorry I wasn't... But at least we have tomorrow."

Skye smiled at that, "Yeah, we do."

May kissed Skye's temple then released her from the hug, "Now for the last time go to bed."

Skye wiped the remaining tears before climbing into the bed. Once she was settled, May turned out the light and took her seat. She couldn't sleep with Skye tonight, the BUS was still in the air and if something happened, May needed to be ready. And if May had to get up and leave in the middle of the night, she didn't want to disturb Skye.

So she took a seat and waited for Skye to fall asleep. When May was certain Skye was asleep, she stood up from her chair and walked upstairs to the cockpit to find someone waiting for her. Coulson had been in there long, only half an hour at most give or take a few minutes.

"I've always liked this view," Coulson said as May walked to the pilot's chair, "It's still, quiet, peaceful."

May sat and nodded along, she really didn't have anything to say. May didn't like flying for the view, she liked it for the solitude and the freedom it provided her thoughts.

"What's on your mind," May asked softly knowing that was why Coulson was here.

Although it wasn't uncommon for him to randomly come up to the cockpit or wait for her to arrive, but there was always a reason. Whether he told her the reason or not, it was there. Coulson wanted to tell May everything on his mind, everything that was weighing him down, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. There was so much going on his head, the Clairvoyant, GH-325, Skye…. He just didn't know how to handle it all.

"I think the better question is what isn't on my mind," Coulson said lightly.

May looked over at him with soft eyes, "Whatever is going on, you don't have to face it alone. All the agents downstairs are here for you, I'm here for you."

"I know," Coulson said. His blue eyes met her gaze and he felt himself lost in a sea of brown.

The way her eyes shined like stars in the darkness, how her soft skin glowed in the dim light of the moon. Her hair hung loosely at her shoulders and even with the space between them, Coulson could still smell her cherry blossom shampoo. It was weak to everyone, but to him it was the only thing he could smell.

"There's something, something I need to ask you," Coulson whispered.

May swallowed hard, she was afraid of what he might ask of her, but nodded nonetheless. She would always be there to help him, she owed him that.

Coulson took a deep breath and said, "With everything going on… will you stand with me?"

"You know I would," May told him gently, "You know I'll always be by your side."

Coulson believed May, he knew she would always be there, but he needed to hear her say it. Even though they didn't need words, sometimes it was nice to hear them.

Hoarsely Coulson went on, "Even after everything, you'll stand by me?"

May gave him a sad smile, "You've always stood by me Phil, even when I pushed you away. No matter what's happened you've always been by my side and I'm going to stay by yours until the end."

May saw something flicker in Coulson's crystal blue eyes, but she wasn't sure what it was. It was as if something had clicked in him, like realizing the answer to an impossible riddle. Their eyes locked, neither one willing to look away just yet. Both wanting to make their point across to the other, but not having the right words to say.

"I'm planning something May," Coulson tells her, "Something that will go against protocol, go against codes and I can't make a promise that no line will be crossed. There's a lot I want- a lot I need to tell you, but I can't tell you now. Not yet. Do you trust me Melinda?"

May felt herself choke at the sound of her name as she responded, "With my life."

Coulson said, "Then I need you to trust me, now more than ever because I trust you May, I trust you and I need you to trust me."

"I do trust you," May told him.

"Good," Coulson said, "because there are some things that could pop up and I need to know you'll still be there when I turn around."

"Do you remember what you said to me the night Skye was saved," May asked, when Coulson nodded she went on, "Do you remember the first night you told me that? The first time we said it to each other."

Coulson remembered the night well, it was burned in the back of his mind and was always there, lingering. The very first time Coulson had ever said the phrase to her was after one of their first missions. New agents only go on small missions to begin with out in the field, this way they can ease into the process. May and Coulson were an exception to this rule.

May had been under Agent Hand's wing, while Coulson had been under Fury's. Having two high ranked agents behind them, they both had a great deal of training, skills and talent. Their first mission had been hard, most of their missions were hard, but nothing they couldn't handle. It had been after their tenth mission together that Coulson told her this phrase.

 _Being an agent, it forces you to make hard choices and sometimes they'll be choices you won't want to make._

May was outstanding in the field, especially for a new agent, but she was hiding something. The night after their mission, Coulson found May in her apartment where everything had been either thrown out of place or broken. She was sitting on the floor of the living room with a blank stare. Being an agent was hard, both in the physical and emotional aspect. Every new agent goes through a period where they have a breakdown from the being out in the field.

 _I know you Mel, what has happened does not define who you are, it helps you to become who you want to be._

Coulson had gone through his own breakdown after the second mission when he had snapped the neck of an attacker and managed to shoot three other attackers. Killing was never easy, but in the moment it doesn't matter that they've taken a life. It's afterwards, remembering it is what really gets them. May had taken a number of lives and had faced many untold fears.

 _Is it hard sometimes to just walk away, to stay calm when the rest of the world is crashing down? Yes, but we signed up for this and we will get through it together. You mean a lot to me Mel, nothing will ever change that. I want you to focus on what I tell you next and I want you to know I meant it._

"I remember you said that you felt torn," Coulson said softly, "That being out there in the field made you understand exactly what you were capable of and that frightened you."

May nodded slightly, "It did and I remember what you said to me, I've never forgotten it."

"No matter what has happened. No matter what you've done. No matter what you will do. I will always love and stand by you. I swear it," Coulson said absently recalling the day.

May replied, "I mean it Phil. No matter what I will be there for you."

Coulson believed her, he knew he could always rely on May. He just wanted to hear her say it like he knew she wanted to hear him say it back.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"We're getting close."

"I could have walked."

"A precaution against what?"

"Melinda are you in there?"

Guess it's the difference between fighting against something and fighting for something, or someone.


	26. Chapter 25

**A/N: Sorry for the late post. I had a volleyball tournament for most of Saturday and then it was my friends birthday so she had a party. Needless I did not have access to a computer all weekend. But, better late than never right. (Philinda flashback because I love them and really want them together). Okay I'm done.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Five**

 **(Years Ago)**

Phil had called and left over fifty voice mails trying to contact Melinda. Two days ago they had returned from their mission in Monte Carlo. For some reason, Melinda had just disappeared refusing to answer her phone. Phil didn't bother her yesterday because he wanted give her some space, but now he was worried. All his thoughts going to the worst case scenarios.

Was she hurt? Had she been kidnapped? Of course Phil knew Melinda could handle herself, but it didn't mean he worried any less. Melinda was his best friend, he would go to the end of the world for her. It was almost midnight and Phil was growing restless.

He was walking down the dark streets heading down to her apartment. Every three hours he came by to see if she was there and if she was, she never answered or gave any sign she was home. It made him anxious. Once he made it to her complex, he didn't bother taking the elevator, he just bolted up the stairs until he was at her door.

"Melinda," he said and knocked on the door, "Melinda are you in there?"

For several moments it was silent, but then Phil heard glass shatter. His heart skipped several beats as he pulled out the key to her apartment. She had given it to him in case of an emergency.

Phil opened the door and called, "Melinda!"

As soon as he walked down her hallway he saw feathers lying all around. Confusing washed over him as he walked into her kitchen. The sink was running and overflowed spilling onto the floor where little pieces of glass were. Quickly he turned the sink off, not caring that he was he was stepping on the glass. All he could think of was Melinda.

"Mel," he called and made his way to the living where he found her.

She was sitting in front of the couch where he coffee table used to be. It was now on her right, the glass spread all across the floor. Her couch was flipped back, the side tables were on the ground and one of them was in pieces.

"Melinda," Phil asked as he walked over to her, "What happened in here Mel? Did someone break in, were you attacked?"

Melinda only stared ahead at the wall in front of her. She was not in a talking mood, she was not in the mood to do anything, but sit there and stare. Phil knew Melinda was always quiet, but this silence was different than what he was used to. Something bad must have happened here.

"Mel," Phil whispered, he bent down beside her avoiding the glass, "Melinda, look at me."

Melinda turned her head slowly to look at Phil with red rimmed eyes and tear stained cheeks. Her brown eyes were dark and hollow instead of the usual spark that they held.

"What happened," Phil asked softly, "I've been trying to reach all day."

Melinda choked back a sob, she had a breakdown yesterday in her apartment, but hadn't had the energy to clean the mess or do anything. Her head hurt, her stomach was upset and her throat hurt from the screaming and crying.

When Melinda didn't answer, Phil noticed her hands were red with blood and covered in cuts from the glass.

Knowing she wasn't going to talk anytime soon he said, "Alright, come on, let's clean you up."

His firm, but soft hands wrapped around Melinda's wrist. Slowly he stood and pulled her up with him, on any other day she would have made a joke about this, but now she was quiet. Her mind was reeling and her heart hurt. Melinda was barefoot wearing a black tank top and light blue pajama pants.

Phil realized he couldn't have her walk to the kitchen with all the glass everywhere, sure he could clean it up, but he needed to keep an eye on Melinda. She wasn't acting like herself. Quickly he scooped her up in his arms before she could protest and started walking.

"I could have walked," Melinda muttered bitterly.

Phil smiled, "Yeah barefoot on the floor covered in glass. I don't think so."

Melinda rolled her eyes, but let him carry her to the kitchen. He set her down on the island in her kitchen before turning to one of the cabinets where the first aid kit was. Phil went over to the sink, grabbed a hand towel from the the side drawer and soaked it in warm water. In the silence Phil looked at her hands and checked to make sure there were no little pieces of glass. He found two pieces in her left hand and one in her right hand.

"I thought something bad happened to you," Phil said softly as he got the first piece of glass out, "You really had me worried there Mel."

"I'm sorry," Melinda whispered hoarsely.

Phil took the second piece of out, "It's okay. I'm here now."

Once Phil got the last piece of glass out, he grabbed the first-aid kit and warm towel. He took her left hand into his and cleaned off the blood trying not to irritate the cuts to much. Luckily they had stopped bleeding and he wanted to keep it that way.

Melinda tried not to focus on the sting from her cuts and instead focused on the way Phil handled her wounds with care. He was gentle, tender, but still firm. Melinda watched as Phil worked, all his attention was on her hands. All his attention was on her.

Phil moved to her right hand, "Do you want to tell me what happened? As soon as we got back, I hear you took off and took time. I tried calling, leaving messages on your phone."

Melinda swallowed, "I… had a minor.. breakdown."

"If this is minor, I'd hate to see you at your worst," Phil said earning a slight chuckle from Melinda.

Phil loved the sound of his partner's laugh. To him it sounded like bells. Once her hands were clean, Phil pulled out a cream similar to Neosporin, but much stronger and some gauze. Carefully he rubbed the cream over her cuts and wrapped the gauze around her hands.

"They should heal in a week or two," Phil said once he was done, "Now, care to tell me why you had a 'minor' breakdown in your apartment and why you just took off?"

Melinda stared at her hands, "How many missions have we been on?"

"Ten," Phil answered unsurely.

Melinda nodded slowly, "Ten missions, at least fifty times we could have died… I've already killed thirty people… made some tough calls... I'm torn Phil."

Phil took Melinda's wrapped hands into his own and held them gently, "I know."

Being a field agent was never easy. Every new agent goes through a period where they realize what it means to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Sure at the academy they tell them what it takes to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and what it means to be one, but each new agents makes the discovery. What it means to them specifically to be an agent.

Everyone has a defining moment outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. then they have a defining moment in S.H.I.E.L.D. Melinda had an idea of what her defining moment at S.H.I.E.L.D. was or would be, but now she figured this was it.

"Being an agent, it forces you to make hard choices and sometimes they'll be choices you won't want to make," Phil told her softly.

Melinda looked up at him, "What if I can't handle it? What if I crumble and fall apart? I feel like I don't know who I am or what I'm supposed to do anymore."

"I know you Mel, what has happened does not define who you are, it helps you to become who you want to be," Phil said, "You are a great person and amazing agent. Yes bad things happen, but that's life. Is it hard sometimes to just walk away, to stay calm when the rest of the world is crashing down? Yes, but we signed up for this and we will get through it together."

"Will we," Melinda asked hoarsely, "This is only the beginning Phil, things are only going to get harder and I'm… I'm afraid of what I'll become… I'm afraid of what will happen when everything changes because nothing lasts forever."

Phil smiled, "I know some things that will last forever." May scoffed and Phil went on, "You mean a lot to me Mel, nothing will ever change that…. I want you to focus on what I tell you next and I want you to know I mean it. No matter what has happened, no matter what you've done, no matter what you will do. I will always and stand by love you, I swear it."

Melinda kept her mouth closed since she had no words to say. Phil had been her closest friend for years, he was always there for her and she knew he meant what he said.

They've said I love you to each other before, but it was never in a romantic way. However right then, Melinda wished it was. Phil stared at Melinda waiting to see her reaction, he did love her and would always be there for her. He just needed her to know that he would always be there for her.

"Do you believe me," Phil asked gently.

Melinda nodded, "I do."

"Good," Phil smiled, "Now let's clean this place up a bit, make some popcorn, drink some wine and watch a movie."

Melinda only smiled in reply.

* * *

 **(Not sure how much time passes between the episodes Yes Men and End of the Begining, so let's just say it was less than a week)**

Agents Garrett and Triplett were helping Coulson in his search for the Clairvoyant and their best case scenario was the Index. Really the ones who were rejected from the Index was what they were interested in. Although the list had a few candidates, it was still a long shot, but the only shot they had at finding the Clairvoyant before it was too late.

Coulson sent a message to the highest ranked members of S.H.I.E.L.D. minus Fury since he was unreachable at the moment. This group of members was composed of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finests. Victoria Hand, John Garrett, Agent Sitwell and Blake arrived with Triplet to hold a meeting with Coulson on the BUS.

"Cruising altitude just reached," May informed their guest, "Bearing 90 degrees just over the North Pole."

"Thank you," Coulson told her and she nodded.

"Apologies for the song and dance," Garrett said, "But we brought you here as precaution."

Sitwell asked, "A precaution against what?"

"The Clairvoyant," Coulson answered, "If there is someone out there who can read minds, at least up here we're as far away from him as possible."

"Figured maybe the Northern Lights will knock a few bars off his psychic wifi," Garrett said sarcastically.

Blake sighed, "Coulson, you know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s stance on psychics. They don't exist."

"Are you sudden;y a believer," Hand asked with a smirk.

Coulson answered, "Not definitely, but I had a recent experience with an Asgardian who could bend people's will with her voice. Forced me to open my mind so to speak."

"All we know for sure is the Clairvoyant's been a step ahead of us, stealing plays from our playbook," Garrett explained.

Coulson added bitterly, "And it's pissing me off. I take it you've all read Garrett's latest report?"

Sitwell answered, "The hit on the safe house. Mr Peterson's alive and kicking."

"We call him Deathlok," May said and Ward finished, "It was the project's code name."

"Agent Garrett and I have been tracking him the last few weeks," Trip explained.

"We think the Clairvoyant's super-soldier bodyguard came after us for a reason," Garrett said, "We're getting close."

"To what, his identity," Hand asked unconvinced.

Coulson and Garrett exchanged a look before Garrett replied, "We've narrowed the list to 13 candidates."

Blake asked, "Narrowed it how? From what?"

Coulson answered him, "Agent Garrett has been taking a second look at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gifted Index, specifically the rejects."

"Individual S.H.I.E.L.D. interviews who are believed to have psychic abilities, but were ultimately dismissed," Garrett explained.

Sitwell clarified, "So you think we've encountered the Clairvoyant before."

"Think about how many cases we've encountered across the globe," Coulson said, "How many cases have we vetted. It's more than possible, it's probable."

"I need more coffee," Blake said trying to process everything Coulson had said.

Hand spoke next, "Let's assume what you're saying is possible. What then? If we're going up against an actual Clairvoyant, how do you suggest we combat that?"

"By compartmentalizing the information," Garrett replied.

"A member of my team is an expert at pattern recognition and analysis, finding needles in haystacks," Coulson said, "She'll prioritize the candidates on Garrett's list, locate them then pair us off into random teams."

"That way only one person knows the full scope of the mission," Garrett adds.

"You do realize she would need to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to be granted that level of access," Hand says and glances at May.

"I'm glad you brought that up," Coulson smiles.

May and Coulson had talked a little while ago about making Skye an official agent. This way she would be apart of S.H.I.E.L.D. rather than a consultant. Skye was downstairs getting more blood drawn from Fitz-Simmons. She had healed remarkably well and could now walk around with only minimal pain in her abdomen. May believed Skye was ready for this. They all did.

Ward went down and told Skye to come upstairs, she had a mini heart attack when Ward said top brass wanted to see her. Fitz-Simmons merely exchanged a look as Skye left upstairs with Ward.

"Am I in trouble," Skye asked Ward as they headed up.

Ward shook his head, "No, you don't have anything to worry about."

They walked over to the other agents and Skye gave May a slightly panicked look. May gave her a calm look in reply, trying to tell her daughter she wasn't in trouble and everything was fine.

"Hello Skye," Coulson said, "There's something I want to go over with you."

Coulson explained to Skye and she nodded along agreeing with him. When he was done, she spoke up.

"Pairing off makes total sense," Skye said, "Just one thought though, what if we make it a double-blind?"

"How so," Hand questioned.

Skye explained, "Well I'll give one person from each team the potential Clairvoyant's coordinates and I'll give the other one the identity. That way no one person knows the full specs of the op until you get there."

Coulson smiled at Skye proudly and saw May do the same. In that very moment, May felt a rush of pride for her daughter and a burst of excitement. She knew her daughter was going to freak out when she learned what Coulson had in store for her.

May slipped out downstairs to grab Fitz-Simmons and tell them what was happening.

"I like how you think," Garrett said then reiterated, "I like how she thinks."

Skye frowned, "One question, how am I supposed to access all the classified files without someone in the room, I don't have clearance."

Coulson grinned, "Now you do, welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Skye."

When Skye saw Coulson pull out the badge, she felt her heart soar with happiness. This was what she wanted, to be apart of something and now she officially was. Skye looked into Coulson's eyes and saw pride in them. She looked over to see her mom and Fitz-Simmons walk in.

"I told them to come up," May smiled at her.

Skye was shocked, but she was so happy. Words could not express how happy she was in that moment. She looked around the room before looking back at the badge, her badge.

"I- I, I don't know what to say," Skye said breathlessly, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, you've passed every required S.H.I.E.L.D. exam with flying colors," Coulson told her, "You've assisted us on multiple field missions, put your life on the line… You earned this."

"Hell you took two in the gut," Garrett smiled, "More than Sitwell here's ever done."

Skye bit her lip hard, willing herself not to cry in front of everyone. She was an agent, an official agent. Skye looked up at her mother and felt her joy doubled when she looked into May's eyes. They were so full of pride, love and happiness.

It was a look she had never seen before.

"Okay everyone," Coulson said, "back to work."

"Congratulations," Garrett said to her.

"Thank you," Skye breathed still in shock.

May hugged Skye tightly and whispered to her, "I am so proud of you sweetheart."

Skye smiled at her mom's words before they split the hug. Fitz-Simmons hugged Skye next telling her congratulations, before they had to go back down and work. Now it was just Ward and Skye.

"Couldn't have done it without a great and very patient S.O." Skye said with a soft smile.

Ward smiled, "Yeah could have. I'm no Clairvoyant, but I do believe some things are meant to be."

With that Ward walked away and Skye was left alone with her heart racing and head spinning. This was the best day ever. Sitwell and Hand to depart while Garrett, Blake and Trip stayed to help. Once Skye had finished setting up the list, she called Garrett in and gave him his phone which would link to his partner's.

The two of them had a nice talk, Garrett told her something that stuck among other things and it made her think about Ward, Coulson, Fitz-Simmons and her mom. Sitting in the cage she replayed the thought, _Guess it's the difference between fighting against something and fighting for something, or someone._

Although Garrett had been talking about Ward her mind went to all the people she cared about on this plane. They were her family and she loved them with every part of her. Right then Skye made them all a promise, she would fight for them, no matter what.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"Don't talk about her!"

" He pushed all the right buttons."

"No, he's a ghost."

"Yes mom."


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N: I am so sorry about the long wait! *Makes an apology bakery filled with the most sincere apology cookies, cakes and brownies***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Six**

Everything had been going smoothly for the teams, Ward with Trip, May with Blake while Coulson was with Garrett. Unfortunately things went awry when Deathlok appeared and took down Blake, not to mention Garrett and Coulson's slight detour. However this gave them a new lead, Thomas Nash was who Blake and May were looking for.

If Deathlok was there, it could only mean he was trying to protect Nash. It means they were getting close. Now at the Hub, Hand, Garrett, May, Ward and Coulson could talk.

"Deathlok more dangerous than we thought," May said after Blake had been rolled out, "Blake fired six shots, didn't seem to faze him."

"Any word on Thomas Nash," Garrett asked.

"No, he's a ghost," May replied, "The facility has him listed as resident, but it's all a cover- up."

"Nash is probably off fishing in bora bora right laughing at us," Garrett commented.

Coulson spoke next, "And yet Mr Peterson was waiting for you and Blake at the facility. Why?"

"Probably the same reason he came after Garrett, we're getting too close and he's trying to take us out," Ward told them.

"This shouldn't have happened," Hand said, "The plan should have worked, so why didn't it?"

"It doesn't matter now," Coulson said, "What matters is, Blake is alive and we have a suspect, Thomas Nash."

Hand sighed, "I'm going to prep the field teams, we need to be ready for anything this Clairvoyant throws at us. Agent Coulson, when can I take Agent Simmons for debrief?"

"She's getting ready as we speak," Coulson informed her.

Hand nodded, "Good, I want my teams to know exactly what they're up against."

Once Hand was gone, Coulson joined May in the lab. Skye was on her way down since May had called through their comms. Skye had done a search on Nash and they needed this information, maybe there was a clue inside.

"According to the Index archives," Skye said scrolling through her tablet, "Nash has been on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar for six years originally a bond trader in Canada doing very well for himself. Then the Canadian government recruited him to a secret department H-type program. They were looking for people with psychic abilities. Specifically people who could control human behavior, and Nash claimed he had a gift."

"Claimed," May asked her eyebrows raised.

Skye nodded, "According to records, he couldn't affect a person's behavior. But he could, on occasion, predict it."

"But S.H.I.E.L.D. crossed him off the index after his accident because of his supposed catatonic state," Coulson interjected.

"Which he recovered from quite nicely," Skye commented.

"It was all a lie just to throw S.H.I.E.L.D. off his scent," Coulson sighed, "You said Blake fired how many rounds?"

May answered, "I heard six. Why?"

Coulson picked up the magazines, "Because there are only five missing from this magazine. And one from here." Coulson looked at May, "These are Fitz's tag rounds."

Skye nodded, this was good, "We can track him."

"Skye, check all the sat feeds," Coulson said, "Find that signal."

"Got it," Skye replied and took off with the tablet in hand.

"I'll get us in the air," May said before leaving to go pilot the plane.

"Nicely done, Blake," Coulson commented before he too left the lab.

Skye had been able to trace the signal back to a race track in Pensacola, Florida. Skye had gone to the cockpit after they were able to track Deathlok and she relayed the coordinates.

"Coulson's bringing me out into the field," Skye said and looked at May.

May didn't like that idea, she didn't like it at all. If it were up to her, Skye would never go back in the field ever again. May knew that wasn't a possibility, but she wished it was. She gripped the controls to the plane a little tighter as she remembered the event of weeks ago. What if Skye got hurt again and she was helpless like before? The idea broke May's heart so she stayed quiet.

Skye noticed May tense and said, "I'll be fine. I'm ready for this."

May knew she couldn't tell Skye otherwise, instead she smirked lightly, "Try not to get shot."

Skye smiled, "You got it boss."

"I mean it," May said in more serious tone, "You are forbidden to get shot again, understood?"

"Yes mom," Skye said with a soft grin, "That goes for you too, deal."

May looked at Skye and said, "My love is strong and close to you, all throughout day-"

"Heart in hand, always near and will never go away," Skye finished as always.

Together they said, "And never let go."

May, Ward, Fitz and Skye joined the field teams at the track, even though May, Coulson and Ward were apprehensive about Skye being in the field. They didn't think she should be out here so soon. However May believed Skye would be okay.

Of course she wanted to stay near Skye, but Coulson told her it wasn't a good idea. Unfortunately May had to agree, but… she just wanted her daughter to be safe.

The team arrived at the scene and were stationed outside the race track.

"Two-man teams on every exit," Coulson ordered then turned to Fitz, "Fitz, you got a signal?"

"94% percent sir, Deathlok must be somewhere inside," Fitz replied.

"Possible civilians inside," May asked removing her sunglasses.

"Highly doubtful," Fitz explained, "This racetrack's been shut down for months."

"Move out," May called out to the tactical team.

"Skye, run a back end from the tactical van," Ward said and turned to an operative, "You, I want you 6 feet from Skye at all times, weapons hot."

Skye looked at Ward, "Ward, it's okay. I'm ready."

"Ward's right," May said and gave Skye a warning look that said, don't try anything.

"Both are right," Coulson told her, "I feel bad enough you're already back in the field. I'm not taking any chances with your safety."

Skye made a face, but there was nothing she could do. Instead she groaned and walked to the back end. The agents went inside and started their search for Deathlok and possibly Nash. Once inside, Fitz sent his hardware through the building while Skye watched the feed. They found Deathlok, Skye confirmed it and was horrified to see what they had done to him. It was more than his eye and leg, it was all under his skin.

They all went after Deathlok, but he got away. May and Coulson were hot on his tail as he went below ground. Coulson made it down first and Fitz sent one of his retrievers down to the sub-basement for support. Garrett made it down there too and together they went after Deathlok who wasn't doing a whole lot of fighting. It was almost as if he was baiting them to follow him, like he wanted them down there.

Deathlok went into the sewers, but before they could pursue, Fitz told them someone else was down there. Coulson and Garrett walked into a room filled with monitors and a man sitting in a chair hooked up to a bunch of wires.

It was Thomas Nash.

Ward and May along with some more agents walked into the room.

Coulson wanted the room swept for explosives as Nash said through the computer, "There are no traps here Agent Coulson. You're here because we are destined to meet."

"You're the Clairvoyant," Garrett asked.

"I'm Thomas Nash," Nash said, "Mr Po gave me that other name, a bit dramatic for my taste."

"Eyes open everybody, we don't know where Deathlok is or who else is down here," Coulson said.

Nash spoke, "Mr Peterson is gone, I cut his feed so you won't find him."

Coulson asked, "But you had him lead us here, why?"

"So I could see you with my own two eyes instead of his," Nash said, "Now I understand why I couldn't see you after you died because you yourself could not see. You were simple a broken man, who did not know he was broken."

Coulson had no idea what to think of this guy, but he didn't let his disgust or irritation show as he said, "You're one to talk."

"Let's pack this freak off to the Fridge where he belongs," Garrett said growing tired of this.

"Agent Garrett," Nash said, "Look at me, do you believe you can confine me any more than this chair?"

"Can somebody please tell me how to turn that stupid voice off," Garrett muttered.

Nash spoke again, "I will join Raina in your prison Agent Coulson, but I will see you wherever you and everyone else go. Just as I saw Agent May holding her daughter, Skye."

May glared at him and snapped, "Don't talk about her."

Nash looked at her, "I can see everything and everyone. I saw when Agent Simmons fell prey to a virus, when Agent Fitz and Agent Ward were left without an escape plan. I saw Skye Agent May, dying in your arms. I saw Coulson watching helpless in the background, knowing it was his fault all over again."

Everyone was silent and tense for a brief moment. Skye and Fitz were watching the feed with wide eyes and dry throats. They exchanged a look with each other remembering all the events Nash had just said.

Coulson leaned over Nash, "You're going away. We're going to stick you in a little box where no one will ever hear you again."

"I see you're angry," Nash said, "Head clouded with lies, you've been betrayed and now you fear what's about to happen."

Coulson bit back, "Nothing's about to happen. Just more empty threats from you."

"No, it is inevitable, a force beyond your comprehension is coming for you, you and Skye."

"Like hell, you won't get near her," May growled at him.

"She has something we want and she will die giving it to us," Nash said, "I have seen it."

Coulson hissed, "Go to hell, you won't touch her."

"No matter where I go or what you do to me I will always be there-"

Bang, bang.

Flatline.

Ward had his gun raised and his nostrils flaring as he stared Nash. May looked angrier than him, her gun was out as well, but her eyes were no longer on Nash. Like everyone else in the room they were on Ward.

"What did you do," Coulson asked as Nash flatlined.

Skye was watching and stunned, "Wait, what just happened?"

"Did Ward just…" Fitz trailed as Skye leaned forward.

"Yeah," she whispered, "He did."

They all went back up, Ward in their custody now without a weapon on him. Once everything was ready to go, May went over to Coulson. She told him they got a message from H.Q. Fury was back and waiting for him at the Triskelion. Coulson was tired of waiting, he was going to get answers.

Coulson looked around for moment briefly then brought his gaze back to hers.

In a low tone he said, "I know you fired that second shot."

May hadn't expected those words to leave his lips, hiding her shock she said flatly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Coulson only sigh and gave her a meaningful look, "No, I guess not."

May drew a long breath, but didn't say anything in reply. Instead she walked away and went straight to Skye who looked like she had seen a ghost. May would talk to her later, but now they needed to get back to the BUS and to the Triskellion.

After a while, Skye went down to the cage where Ward was leaning against the wall. She opened the door with a bottle of water in hand.

"I thought you were Coulson," Ward said softly as Skye closed the door.

She gave him the water and both took a seat. For a few seconds it was quiet and fairly tense between them, but Skye was the one to break the silence.

"Why'd you do it," Skye asked softly.

"I lost it," Ward replied remembering the burst of anger he felt, "I got angry. He pushed all the right buttons."

"Coulson said the mission was to capture, not to kill," Skye pointed out looking at Ward.

"Think about what the Clairvoyant said about all of us, what he's done," Ward said as he leaned forward, "Think about the Centipede program, how he experimented on innocent people like Mike Peterson, how he kidnapped and tortured Coulson, how he ordered Quinn to shoot you." Ward bit his lip before saying in a lower tone, "And he wasn't gonna stop, Skye. Not until you…. I wasn't gonna let that happen. I couldn't let it happen."

Skye swallowed and looked at her hands, "So, what happens now?"

Ward sighs, "I will face a S.H.I.E.L.D. review board. Whatever the punishment, I'll take it… I deserve it. But I don't regret what I've done."

Skye frowned, "You don't?"

Ward shook his head, "No. Not if it means _you're_ safe. You and the rest of the team…, you guys are my family and I will protect all of you I said I was going to keep all of you safe. I intend to do just that. No matter what."

Skye looked down for a moment unsure of what to say. What's done is done, there was really nothing she could say.

Ward took a short breath, "You mean a lot to me Skye, I want you to remember that."

Ward was willing to do anything for Skye. Almost losing her made him want to do everything in his power to make sure she was safe and alive. Skye met Ward's gaze and as she stared at him, she felt her eyes start to burn. He meant what he said and she wasn't sure how to feel. The only thing she could focus on was her heartbeat racing out of control and her the burning in her eyes from the tears she was trying to stop. Skye had nothing to say, instead she stood up and left Ward alone to his solitude. However his words didn't leave her mind, they were all she could think about.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"I didn't do anything."

The investigation all wrapped up in a neat little bow."

"Coulson is upstairs questioning Ward, Fitz is freaking out and I don't know what to do. "

"Who's on the other end of that line?"

"We're going to use me."


	28. Chapter 27

**Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Fitz-Simmons had their own agenda to complete. While Simmons was at Hub, she would try to do a molecular breakdown on Skye's blood to see if there were any traces left of GH-325. In order to stay in touch without anyone hearing, Fitz was going to make an encrypted line, but ran into an issue.

From the looks of it, he found a line already encrypted. Skye was worried about Ward. She couldn't believe that he would just point blank shoot someone like that. It just made her feel uneasy about the whole thing. Skye went to talk to Coulson.

"Mind if I talk some stuff through with you," Skye asked, "Are you busy?"

Coulson looked at Skye, "I'm worried."

"About Ward and his shots fired," Skye asked.

"I'm worried he killed the wrong man," Coulson said, "How do we know it was him? He never spoke. The computer spoke for him. How do we know he was the one controlling it?"

Skye's brow furrowed as she asked, "Are you saying Nash could have been pretending to be the Clairvoyant?"

"I'm saying Nash could have been a prop," Coulson clarified.

"And now he's dead," Skye added.

"After the attacks led us right to him," Coulson sighed, "The investigation all wrapped up in a neat little bow. I feel like he could still be out there right now, in our heads."

Skye had an idea, "Or in our files. When you told me to check into the psych evals, you said something. You said, "read his mind" and it got me thinking. Ward said that the Clairvoyant knew how to push all the right buttons."

"Raina did that to me, too," Coulson muttered remembering what Raina had said.

"Did she mention your father's death," Skye asked, Coulson was surprised at the question and his silence answered what Skye already knew. "Your psych evaluation called it "a defining moment." These aren't just personality 're surveillance on every agent pictures, stats, where you've been stationed, who you'd visit, where you'd like to eat."

Coulson stared at Skye's tablet, "Dinners at the Richmond. He's been monitoring us...Think about it, the Clairvoyant only knew you'd be at Quinn's villa-"

"After I dropped a tracker," Skye finished, "And the only thing he's had trouble seeing is what happened to you after you died."

Coulson looked at Skye and said, "Because Director Fury wouldn't release that file to anyone. The Clairvoyant doesn't have abilities. He has security clearance. He's an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Coulson left his office fuming and headed to Ward. Ward had clearance. He shot Nash. Was that his call or somebody else's? Coulson didn't know, but he was going to find out.

Ward was leaning against the metal wall when Coulson came in. Although he didn't regret shooting Nash, he was upset with how Skye had looked at him. Like she didn't know him and maybe she didn't.

"Sir," Ward said, "First off I just wanted-"

"Save it," Coulson snapped, "I don't want your apologies, I don't want your excuses."

"I'm not making excuses," Ward protested, but Coulson cut him off again.

"The only thing I want to know is whether you made the call yourself or did someone order you to do it?"

"What," Ward asked confused.

"Don't play dumb Agent Ward, just answer the question. Did someone order you to kill the Clairvoyant," Coulson said sternly.

Fitz was downstairs still looking for the other encrypted line to contact Simmons and he followed the wire to May's locker. He didn't get the chance to look further when May caught him. Fitz stuttered his way out and May hadn't followed him, but she knew he saw the line. This was only going to end badly. Fitz was breathing heavily as he walked upstairs and ran into Skye.

"Fitz," she said.

"What," Fitz asked breathless.

Skye raised an eyebrow, "I was just looking for you."

"Why," Fitz asked nervously, "I didn't do anything."

"What," Skye said, "I didn't say you did. What'd you do?"

Fitz swallowed, "well um, I'm not quite sure actually. Cause um.. I was just doing maintenance in the avionics bay… okay why would- why would May have an unauthorized encrypted lin in the cockpit, complete with a thumb scanner. That isn't in any of the plane's specs."

Skye paused trying to process what Fitz said before saying, "Slow down, an encrypted hard line?"

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, dedicated to one receiver. She's not supposed to have that, who's she talking to?"

Skye felt the air had been forced out of her lungs. There was no way her mom was talking to the Clairvoyant. Skye needed to talk to her mom and figure this out, she was just over reacting.

Skye swallowed, "I don't know. Just cut the line right now Fitz."

Fitz didn't question her, he just went and cut the line. May was pissed about that and she went looking to see what happened. Fitz just ran like a bat out of hell to get away.

Skye needed to talk to May. There was no way her mom was talking to the Clairvoyant, right? No her mom must have had another reason for that line. She needed to find her mom and talk to her before things got bad. After searching for a few minutes, Skye ran into her downstairs.

"Skye," May breathed and lowered her ICER, "You gave me a heart attack."

"Why do you have an encrypted phone line," Skye asked shakily.

"Skye.." May started, but Skye cut her off.

"M, someone has been spying on us and reporting to the Clairvoyant, I don't think that was you," Skye told her, "But right now it looks bad. Coulson and I just found out the Clairvoyant is an agent with high level clearance. So..."

May cursed under her breath before saying, "I'm not working for the Clairvoyant. The line went to Fury, that's all I can say. I'm under orders not to talk about it."

"Well we're going to talk about it soon," Skye said, "Coulson is upstairs questioning Ward, Fitz is freaking out and I don't know what to do. We need a plan."

May drew a long breath before saying, "I've got one. We're going to use me."

"I'm sorry what," Skye asked not sure where her mother was going with this.

"Use me to draw out the real mole," May clarified, "I'll work it out, but right now you need to get back up there and tell Coulson about the line. The truth is going to come out, but before then there are other things going on."

"Mom," Skye said not sure where her mother was going with this.

May shook her head, "Just go Skye, right now. Plain and simple, tell Coulson what you found. Not what I told you, understand."

Skye swallowed hard, but nodded before taking off upstairs to find Coulson. Ward and Coulson were still in the cage and their conversation was heated.

"I wasn't put on your plane so you could make me a better person Coulson," Ward shouted, "You put me here to make the hard call and I made it."

"That's not what I asked you Agent Ward," Coulson snapped.

Ward bit back, "I answered your question, I wasn't working for anybody. I take full responsibility for my own actions."

"Then why," Skye came in and Coulson cut off, "What?"

Skye's voice was hoarse as she said, "Uh… I-I.. there's a problem…"

Skye and Coulson left to May while Ward stayed in the cage. Skye was really worried about this whole thing. She knew her mom wasn't working for the Clairvoyant, but was worried about whatever plan she had in mind.

May had been looking around with her ICER raised. The plan with Skye was simple enough, but considering she made it a few minutes ago, there were a lot of holes. She made it the cargo hold, but was trapped inside by Fitz who closed the doors to the lab. She had fired at him, but she hadn't known it was him. Luckily the glass kept him safe.

"Put it down," Coulson snapped making May look up, "Put it down May!"

"It's not what you think Coulson," May said, "It's just an ICER."

"This one is not," Coulson said, "It's real, with real bullets. So you better put yours down and tell me what the hell is going on, right now."

"I-I" May choked.

"Now," Coulson yelled and May said, "I can't."

Skye appeared in the other door. Her gun was raised and pointed at her, but May could tell it was an ICER and not a real gun like Coulson's.

"Please just do as he says," Skye pleaded, "You can't take us both… Just answer him."

May swallowed, she opened her arms and lowered them, "Look, I can explain everything, but not here."

"Why not here," Coulson asked, "You have to check with someone first using that encrypted phone in the cockpit? Who's on the other end of that line May?"

"I can't say," May said through gritted teeth.

"Just tell him," Skye said biting her bottom lip, "So we can work this out."

May glanced at Skye to see her hands were slightly shaking and her eyes glossy. Skye really did not like pointing a gun at her mother, but she didn't know what to do. All she could do was listen to Coulson and follow the plan her mother had made, even if she didn't really know what the plan was. Skye only knew May was talking to Fury, but she still had so many questions.

"That's okay, I think I know," Coulson said, "It makes sense now, why Deathlok put Blake in critical condition and you unharmed, why he led us to the track only to disappear instead of defending his boss. Why would he do that? Because that wasn't his boss was it?"

"What are you talking about," May asked confused, but then she remembered what Skye told her before.

"Stop lying to me," Coulson shouted, "Who do you answer to?! Who's the real Clairvoyant?"

Before May could answer the plane started shaking and everyone lost balance. Coulson grabbed the rail, Skye held onto the door while May was fighting to keep herself steady. Once the plane leveled, Coulson's eyes were back on May.

"What did you do," Coulson asked, "Where are we going?"

"I don't know! I didn't do it Phil," May yelled, "I don't know what's happening here, I swear!"

"If you're not doing this, who is," Coulson asked, but May didn't have an answer.

"Drop the weapon," Coulson said, "Drop the damn weapon and kick it over to the stairs May, now!"

May dropped the ICER and kicked it away as Coulson came down the stairs. Although he was uncomfortable having to point a gun at his old friend, it needed to be done. Right now he wasn't sure if she was his friend.

"Now back the hell up, over there," Coulson told her and she moved away.

May was now diagonal from Coulson and Skye. May took a chance and looked at Skye who mouthed to her, I'm sorry. This whole thing was a mess and May wished Skye hadn't been involved. Since all eyes were on her, she just gave Skye a look that said she understood.

Coulson's hand was shaking slightly as he said, "Talk, tell us where you rerouted the plane."

"I didn't set this new course," May protested.

"Don't lie to me," Coulson shouted.

Fitz spoke for the first time, "Yeah well the plane just turned around for God's sake."

"How is this happening then," Skye asked keeping her voice even.

"H.Q. can override automated control of the avionic, take us anywhere they want," May replied, "let me check the panel-"

"No way," Fitz said.

Coulson added, "You're not going anywhere 'til you explain-"

"It's not me," May shouted, desperation in her voice.

"Why did you have an encrypted hard line," Coulson asked.

Fitz added, "And tried to shoot me when we found it?"

"Maybe we all need to take a breath," Skye said softly.

"No," Coulson shouted and stepped forward, "Answer the question May!"

May stepped back and said, "It was a dedicated channel… to Director Fury. That's the truth!"

"Director Fury," Coulson said in disbelief, "I haven't been able to get him on the line for weeks."

"You were reporting to him," Skye asked nervously.

"That's all I can tell you," May replied.

Fitz spoke next, "Just come out with it."

"That's all you can tell us," Coulson shouted angrily.

May said, "I'm under orders."

"What, was this an order," Fitz asked pointed to the breaks in the glass where May shot the ICER, "To shoot me in the bloody head."

"Hold on," Coulson said, "We're not headed to Fury anymore."

"I don't know where we're headed," May told him, "And I can't get Fury on the line because Fitz cut it!"

"Skye told me to," Fitz protested.

Skye sent May a look before replying, "Someone was talking to the Clairvoyant, the real one and finding a secret line… it just... it didn't look good."

"You were in the walls Fitz, want to explain why you tampering the plane's sat cable," May said, "That cable can be used to reroute the plane."

"Sure because that's relevant, don't turn this on me," Fitz said.

Coulson looked at Fitz with his gun still pointed at May, "Fitz."

The scientist swallowed, "I was trying to speak to Simmons at the Hub."

"And you needed an encrypted line," Coulson asked, "What's so secret that you-"

"You tell me," Fitz interrupted, "Simmons and I know you two have been whispering, keeping things from us about the drug that saved your life. Simmons is just trying to figure it out how the whole thing works!"

"Fitz," May said, "Who is she talking to?"

Coulson stood in front of the door, "Fitz open the door."

"No way, not until we sort this out, I'm not opening anything," Fitz said.

"Open the door," Coulson told him again, "We can't get anything sorted until you open the damn door…. Skye get your laptop hooked up to our systems. See if you can pull up any S.H.I.E.L.D. communications.. I want to know where this plane is headed and why."

"Coulson-" May started, but Coulson cut her off.

"You stay put!"

Skye flinched, hearing Coulson yell in anger was not something she was used to. Fitz opened the door and Skye glanced back at May before leaving to get her laptop. This was a mess.

Coulson looked at Fitz, "Now tell me who SImmons is talking to because if it isn't someone we trust, she's in serious danger."

* * *

 **Teaser**

"Was that really necessary?"

"Might be an issue."

"You have to believe me."


	29. Chapter 28

**A/N: I am so sorry for the long wait! School has been really stressing me out lately so I had to put writing on the side for the time being. Hopefully the next update won't take as long as this one did. I'm going to try and post again on Monday. *Makes an apology buffet with cake, cookies and ice cream***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Eight**

Simmons was at the Hub about to upload Skye's blood to the system when Trip walked in on her. Trip had questioned her about what she was doing and how Coulson's team was so secretive and he brought up the drug that saved Skye's life. It sounded strange to him. Simmons knew she should keep what she and Fitz were doing just between them, but she had been caught and couldn't lie her way out.

Instead she told Trip that she wanted to do research on Skye's blood and possibly find more of that drug. However she was hitting too many dead ends. Trip offered to help her and was going to give her a secure line so she could contact Agent Weaver about this. With any luck she might be able to help Simmons find a way to re-create this drug.

Meanwhile back at the BUS, tensions were still high between the team as Skye tried to get in contact with anyone who might be listening. Every frequency and communications were down.

"What do you mean, _noise_ ," Coulson asked.

Skye continued typing furiously, "I mean literally noise across every S.H.I.E.L.D. communication channel. Some sort of blanket signal."

"Encoded data, maybe," Coulson suggested.

"I think so," Skye replied focused on the screen.

Coulson turned to May, "You want to fill us in? We root you out a mole suddenly our plane shuts down, our communications jammed."

"I don't know what's happening," May insisted, "You have to believe me."

"No, I don't," Coulson bit back.

Through the static coming from Skye's laptop, they could hear Garrett, "Do you read? Do you read, 6-1-6?"

"Where's that coming from," Coulson asked. Skye sighed and continued to type, "Close."

Garrett spoke again through the now clear line, "Enemy aircraft on my tail. Over."

"Garrett," Coulson confirmed.

"Coulson, I'm under attack," Garrett said, "Drones. Repeat, S.H.I.E.L.D. drones are on my ass and we're not getting along you copy?"

"Copy," Coulson said, "Garrett, what's happening? We've lost control of our aircraft."

Garrett replied, "Hell if I know. Tell me you got guns on that thing. I'm coming to you."

Coulson looked back at May, he could see the plea in her eyes and heard the desperation in her voice. She wouldn't make this up, she wouldn't be lying to him. But he couldn't bring himself to believe her. Without thinking, he fired the ICER. May was shot in the chest and fell backwards leaving Fitz and Skye speechless. Even if it was just an ICER Skye was not happy Coulson shot her mother.

Anger bursted through Skye as she glared at Coulson, furious he actually did that. This wasn't her fault, she didn't do anything wrong. Sure she kept a big secret, but she was trying to do what was right for everyone and he just shot her.

"Was that really necessary," Skye snapped angry and shocked that Coulson actually shot at her.

Coulson gave Skye a look, "I know you're in an uncomfortable situation right now and I'm sorry for that, but we need to get everything sorted out. Fitz, can you manually wire the guns to weapons control bypass our system?"

Fitz nodded, "If I have cables long enough, yeah."

Coulson looked at Skye, "Skye, decode the signal. We need to get ahead of this. I don't want any more surprises today."

Although she was still mad and surprised she got to work and watched as Coulson and Fitz brought an unconscious May to the cage where Ward was. She sighed and hoped everything would work out in the end, it had to work out didn't? Ward was sitting in the metal chair when Fitz and Coulson arrived. He watched them come into the cage and lower May to the ground in complete shock and confusion. What was going on up there was the only thing Ward could think about. Nothing made sense anymore.

Coulson was able to help Garrett out of his situation and he boarded the plane shortly after the other drone was gone. Garrett, Coulson and Skye were in the command center looking at the monitor as Skye explained what she knew was going on.

"It's a simple message repeated, semantic encoding," Skye said, "I need to find the mnemonic key. It should only take me a minute more to decipher."

"Can I ask the obvious question, what the hell," Garrett said.

"We don't know," was Coulson's reply, "We don't even know where our plane is headed."

"Oh I saw you're trajectory, you're being tractor-beamed straight to the Hub," Garrett told him, "Those drones were launched out of there for sure."

"Victoria Hand," Coulson muttered.

"Hand," Fitz said, "No it can't be."

Garrett looked at Coulson confused, "Can't be what?"

"The Clairvoyant," Skye said.

Garrett frowned, "I thought Ward capped that guy."

"I don't believe the man Ward killed was the Clairvoyant," Coulson said, "I think he was an unwitting decoy meant to end our investigation."

"That's a lot of trouble to go through for a red herring don't you think," Garrett commented.

Coulson added, "because the Clairvoyant is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, using high level clearance to stay ahead of us, make it seem like she's got psychic abilities."

"She," Garrett questioned, "You think Victoria Hand's the Clairvoyant?- I don't mean to pee in the punch bowl, but that doesn't make a lot of sense. I was stationed with Vic in Lisbon. She's a hard ass and a buzzkill at parties, I grant you, but do you really think she's capable of that?"

"Excuse me, didn't she just try to blow you out of the sky," Coulson pointed out.

"Don't get me wrong, she's definitely gone nuts, but her actions prove she's not the Clairvoyant right," Garrett said, "I mean if she's been hiding in plain sight all this time… why reveal herself now?"

"Guys," Skye said when she was done with the encoding.

They looked at the monitor where Coulson read, "Out of the shadows, into the light."

The next part revealed Hydra.

Fitz was next to speak. "I thought Hydra was defeated after World War II."

"It was, S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded in the wake of that victory," Coulson explained.

"And they're back," Fitz asked.

"Hydra always comes back," Garrett muttered.

Coulson finished, "Cut off one head, two more will take it's place."

"But it was sent from a S.H.I.E.L.D. source," Skye said, "It's got to be some sort of activation signal, to Hydra member within S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Hand must be one of them," Coulson said.

"Okay, stop, stop, what does that even mean," Fitz asked, "targeting level eight agents, seizing power. I wonder how deep it goes."

"The signal's everywhere, deep," Skye said.

"You know what this means," Coulson said.

"Yeah, we're screwed," Garrett said.

Coulson replied, "We can't change course, and we have no idea what's waiting for us back at the Hub."

"I say we blow a hole in the of this puppy," Garrett said, "And parachute out, live to fight another day."

"We can't," Coulson said.

Garrett replied, "It's a cherry ride, I'll give you that, but let's not just hand over the keys."

"Simmons is at the Hub," Fitz said, "We have to save her."

Garrett sighed, "Trip's there too. I don't mind saying I don't like the odds on this one. We should let your specialists out of their cage. We can use every weapon we can get."

Skye agreed, "They can help us. We need to save Simmons and Trip."

Coulson released a breath trying to process everything before he spoke, "So we fly in there and face the music… even if it is the Hydra theme song."

Meanwhile in the cage, May was waking up and Ward was watching her. He had no idea what to think about May being the one behind all this. It didn't make sense, but he would get some answers.

"Coulson said you're an informant," Ward said, "Want to elaborate on that?"

May grunted, "No, I don't.. Damn ICER."

"We all deserve to know," Ward said.

May rolled her eyes, "Don't start with that. We do our jobs. End of story. I can't tell you any more until Fury gives the go-ahead."

Ward scoffed, "You're good. I mean, I always heard you were good. But, man playing us this whole time, conning this team, Coulson, you're daughter."

"I wasn't playing anyone," May snapped, "I had your backs."

"And reported on us behind them," Ward bit back, "You know, you always said to keep my emotions in check. But this is some next-level-"

May interrupted, "And you should have listened. You killed a man in cold blood, let your emotions get the best of you."

"Last I checked I was not the only one who fired, but no one saw you and you took my gun," Ward snapped, "I did it to protect this team from a monster!"

"No it was to protect Skye," May said, "Which would be okay if you- if we hadn't shot the wrong guy."

A tense silence fell over the two specialist. Neither of them having anything else to say. May's statement replayed itself in Wards mind, while May was trying to figure out she was going to get out of this mess.

Coulson walked in a moment later and talked to May, "Fitz repaired your direct line. If you have the ability to make this right, now's the time, 'cause you can't make it worse."

Coulson brought May to her encrypted line to see if she was telling the truth. May knew her orders, but right now she didn't have much of a choice. Her thoughts wandered to Skye as she and Coulson walked in silence. Was Skye okay? Did Skye think she was traitor? Did anyone get hurt up there? May wanted to ask where the others were, but decided against it.

"I have orders not to do this with anyone else present," May muttered as she opened the little door.

The plane jerked and Coulson said, "They're taking out our guns. Get Director Fury on the line or I'll march you out there first."

May clenched her jaw, but grabbed the phone. However when she called in, she was told Director Fury was dead. Coulson heard that, but then the shooting started. May was shot in the arm and cried out.

Coulson wrapped his arms around her and brought her to the floor behind the chairs so bullets wouldn't get to them. He would never let her get hurt, no matter how mad or confused he was with her now. No matter what he would always protect her. It was part of a silent promise he made to her many years ago.

Ward left the cage and went looking for the other's. He was so confused about what was going on and the shaking of the plane once it landed was not a good sign. Right now he needed some answers, desperately he needed to understand what was happening.

"Sir," Ward said when he saw Garrett, "What is going on? Who's shooting at us?"

"A whole lot," Garrett replied, "Come here let me catch you up. Apparently Agent Hand is the Clairvoyant, so chew on that first."

Ward's eyes widened and he didn't have a chance to respond. The shooting started and everyone fell on the floor. Garrett and Fitz were crouched down, while Ward pulled Skye into his arms shielding her from the glass that shattered and the flying bullets. The shots had stopped and everyone quickly moved below to the lower halls. May and Coulson met them down there.

May and Skye made eye contact, but didn't say anything to each other. Skye noticed May was holding her arm, she made a move over to her, but Coulson was already moving May away. Garrett, Ward, Fitz and Skye followed in silence, everyone's thoughts heavy with the new chaos surrounding them. Coulson and May took a different turn, she was injured and he needed to get the bullet out of her arm.

Although Skye wanted to follow, she knew they needed to get some supplies and stay with the others. Skye watched the corner they turned by and frowned before helping Fitz grab the bags and essentials they were going to need. Garrett and Ward were talking on the side and he asked Ward a specific question. One he had an answer to, but couldn't bring himself to say out loud.

"Is there anything on this plane you don't want them to get their hands on," Garrett asked.

Ward didn't have it in him to speak. Instead he looked at Skye who was looking through one of the bags. Her mind was wandering far away. All she could focus on was the sound of guns from outside and that her mom had been hurt, but she couldn't be there. Skye knew her mom was innocent of this Hydra and Clairvoyant threat, she just knew it.

"That was his direct line, Phil," May said willing him to believe her.

"So it's real," Coulson said, "That means it's just you and me, unless there were other parties you reported to."

"There weren't," May protested as he pulled the bullet out.

"Then come out with it," Coulson snapped, "Fury's gone. We're being shot at by our own people."

May sighed, "Fury knew you'd want me to join up, - asked me to keep an eye on you."

Coulson spoke in a softer tone, "Looking for what?"

May looked into his eyes, "Signs of physical or mental deterioration, to keep him updated. It's that simple."

Coulson was stunned, "Did you know about Tahiti?" When May didn't answer Coulson went on, "How could you do that to me? After all we've been through, the years we spent together in ops-"

"He said it was essential you couldn't know," May said.

"The time I spent sifting through the ashes with you in Bahrain," Coulson said, looking more hurt than ever, "I gave you a second chance when I assembled-"

"I assembled this team," May interrupted.

"What," Coulson asked in disbelief.

"I evaluated what was needed, and I gave the assessment to Fury, and he gave you the parameters for your unit," May explained softly.

Coulson had to ask, he needed to know, "What was needed, May?"

May bit her lip before saying, "Someone who could repair your body, a technician who could reprogram your brain, and a specialist to help me put you down if it had to be done."

Coulson felt like he was going to pass out. This couldn't be true, May wouldn't do this to him. How could she do this to him? No, she was his partner, his life long friend and here she was telling him all these things... Coulson didn't know what to think.

May's eyes were burning and her heart was racing. She never wanted to hurt Coulson, she only wanted to protect to him, to keep him safe.

"But I didn't do it for Fury. I did it for you! To protect you! I-I," May paused, "You mean a lot to me. A lot.… To hear you were dead, to have to lower that casket in the ground and bury you…." May held Coulson's gaze as she said, "You may not believe me, but that's the truth. And I have nothing to do with the Clairvoyant or this Hydra threat we're up against. Hopefully, this helps prove that."

Coulson looked away, "I want to believe you... but you've used that against me this whole time."

Ward appeared in the doorway, "They stopped firing, no clear shots through the windows."

May sighed, "They want to preserve the aircraft, a surgical strike team is next."

"Fitz cut the hydraulics in the cargo ramp, they'll have to pry it open," Ward told them.

"That won't hold them long," Coulson said as he finished wrapping May's arm, "We need a plan to get out of here with whatever we can take with us."

"About that," Ward said, "Might be an issue."

Ward and Coulson went to the lab where they had Skye back up everything on the plane to a hard drive. All the 0-8-4 specs and weapons they had come across were on this plane, even the Tahiti drug. Hydra could not get their hands on any of that, who knows what would happen if they did. So once Skye backed up the hard drive, she would wipe the system clean. After the system was clear, everyone geared up.

Fitz used one of his old inventions to create a hole in the plane and the floor below them to get out. While they circled around, Skye positioned herself near May and whispered, "I thought we agreed neither of us were allowed to get shot." May smirked at Skye, but didn't say anything. Skye was okay with that, the smirk was enough. The group snuck into the Hub and made their way through the halls. First they needed to find Simmons and Trip, then they could get of there.

"Now we split up," Coulson informed them, "Skye and Ward, disable their systems, most importantly their control of our plane."

"Copy that," Skye said.

"Remember, these agents are under orders, use ICER only," Coulson said as Ward and Skye left, "We'll find Simmons and get out."

"We should go straight for HAnd," Garrett said, "Hydra's always talking about getting their heads cut off right?"

"Saving SImmons and Triplett, that's our priority," Coulson replied.

Garrett smiled, "I agree and that's how I'd get it done, hope you have a better plan."

May tried to get Coulson to take her cuffs off, but he wouldn't. They needed her help, but those cuffs needed to stay on. May groaned internally, this would be a long day.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"Right answer."

"I never mentioned that."

"Like my mom does?"

"Hail Hydra!"


	30. Chapter 29

**A/N: *Sets up apology buffet filled with cake, cookies and brownies***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Simmons and Trip found themselves in a really, really bad situation. Being surrounded by Hydra agents was not the way Simmons or Trip wanted to go down, they honestly didn't want to go down at all. They had been caught by Hydra and now were standing in front of Hand with a lot of guns pointed at them. Trip was used to being in situations like this, it was a daily hassle having to be involved in intense areas and dealing problems such as these. Although he was worried, he knew he needed to stay calm and find a way to get himself and Simmons out of there.

Unfortunately for Simmons she was not used to these kind of situations and was absolutely terrified. Standing beside Trip, she tried to pass herself off as brave, but even the Hand could see her shoulders trembling as she feared for her life. All she could think about was everything she had done while in S.H.I.E.L.D. and the friends she had made throughout the years.

She hoped this wasn't the end, there was still so much left for her to live for.

Hand took a seat in front of them and spoke, "The rest of your possibly very short lives hinges on this moment. Hydra has successfully infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. at the highest level. It only took seven decades, and today is our coming-out party. We have the support of the level-9 and level-10 agents. And those who have resisted Hydra have been crossed off, Director Fury included. I'm here to offer you a choice, and a simple one at that. Either swear unwavering loyalty to Hydra right now for all time or share Fury's fate. I won't wait long."

Simmons would never serve Hyrda, she would much rather die. Trip felt the same. The two of them exchanged a look, they knew exactly what they needed to do. Before they were caught, the two of them had come up with little plans on what to do in various situations. It looks like one was about to come handy.

Trip grabbed the gun from the guard closest to him got the knife from Simmons and said, "Cross us off and one of you goes, too."

It was a gamble at best and bluff at worst. Right now they were counting on these men caring for each other, but that wasn't really Hydra's forte.

Hand showed just a hint of a smile, "Right answer. The number of people I trust is now seven." She turned to a guard, "Where are we on the roundup?"

Jacobson, the guard, answered, "We're moving all agents below level five to East holding. I have men monitoring microphones placed in most of the rooms."

"And our strike team," Hand asked.

Another agent replied, "Has stormed the plane, yes."

Simmons didn't know what to do except blink in confusion. What just happened?

Breathless she said, "That was a-a test?"

Hand looked at the scientist, a look of respect in her eyes, "That very few have passed."

Simmons sighed relieved, "I thought we were dead. You're not Hydra. Thank God."

"Don't celebrate just yet," Hand told her, "We may not be Hydra, but your friend Coulson he is."

Simmons swallowed hard at Hand's words. There was no way Coulson was Hydra, he would never join Hydra. Coulson was far too loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. to Fury and to everything this agency stood for. The very idea of Coulson being apart of Hydra made Simmons want to laugh or throw up depending on whether or not what Hand said was true.

She hoped for the ladder.

* * *

Garrett covered his face and brought May, Coulson and Fitz to the surveillance room, or one of them anyway. The plan was simple enough and easy to follow, he made it look like he had captured them, but once inside, Garrett and Coulson used their ICER's and took out the other agents. No hard at all, it was almost too easy in May's opinion, but she wouldn't say it.

Fitz went straight to one of the computers and began his search for Simmons. He had to find her, he wouldn't stop until she was in his arms again and they were all safe. She couldn't be too far, right?

* * *

Meanwhile Skye and Ward were trying to finish their part of the plan, but were stuck.

"Damn," Ward muttered as he closed the door.

"That processing center is at the end of that hall," Skye said softly.

Ward sighed, "Give me your icer."

"What are you gonna do," Skye asked confused.

"Pave the way for you," he told her.

Skye just stared at him, "There's like a hundred guys out there."

"Level-five foot soldiers, basic armor package, and no other way through," Ward said, "The others are depending on us."

"But it's suicide," Skye protested not liking the idea of Ward going out there.

"Not if I don't die," Ward replied and sighed, "And if I do, then -"

"Whoa-slow down," Skye said looking at Ward pleadingly.

He couldn't look at her, not after everything that had happened over the past few days, past few hours. He thought he was protecting her, protecting his team and the people he had come to as family. He was wrong though. Now he had to pay for it.

Ward bit his bottom lip, "Maybe I deserve to... I killed an innocent man, Skye."

"You didn't know," Skye told him softly, "You thought you were doing the right thing. You thought he was going to-"

"To hurt you," Ward said and looked at Skye with soft eyes.

His feelings for her were strong. No matter what he would protect her with life. Almost losing her once was too painful. He would make sure she stayed safe, he would make sure she was going to make it out of this.

Skye wasn't sure what to do or say, she could see the remorse in his eyes and knew he meant what he said when he felt guilty about what he had done. However there was something else there, not as strong as love, but it was there. He felt something for her and Skye felt the same.

Ward sighed with thoughtful eyes, "If we make it out of this, maybe we can - grab a drink, just you and me."

Skye replied uncertainly, "Are you-"

"Remember in that bar in Dublin, you offered to talk," Ward asked and Skye nodded, "I didn't want to talk. I needed to keep things compartmentalized."

"Like my mom does," Skye asked with a small grin.

Ward scoffed, "She can compartmentalize with anything and anyone, but you and you know it…. What I'm trying to say is I want a chance to take you up on it, to have that talk." Ward paused, "Look, I know I'm not that guy. I'm too locked-down, too boring-"

Skye cut him off with a slight grin, " _When_ we make it out of this yes, let's have that drink."

Ward smiled at her and turned to leave. Skye grabbed his arm and made him look at her. Her eyes traveled to his lips, she gripped the top of bullet proof vest and pulled him down closer to her level. Their lips connected and it was like electricity pulsed through them. Skye felt a rush of warmth flow through her veins and resisted the urge to moan.

Ward felt like his body was pulsing with adrenaline and he loved it, the way he felt like he could do anything. He loved her. He loved her eyes, her smile, her laugh and everything about her. If they weren't about to fight, he would stay in this closest and kiss her forever. The kiss ended far too quickly for both of them, but they still had a job to do.

Skye smiled at him breathless, "You said you might die, so.. what the hell?"

Ward laughed lightly, "Lock the door behind me."

Ward took a deep breath and went outside the closet. Once Skye closed the door, he fired his ICERs and took down all the agents in less than two minutes. However they were the longest two minutes of Skye's life. All she could hear was grunting, punches and kicks being thrown around and the sound of breaking glass. SHe wasn't sure what was going on, but she really hoped her mentor was okay.

When the hall went silent her fear and panic rose. She prayed that Ward would be the one to open that door. She backed into the corner and to her relief he did.

He opened the door and said breathlessly, "Hey."

"You should really look up the word "boring" in a dictionary," Skye said with a relieved smile.

"You ready to hack this system," Ward asked.

Skye grinned and opened her backpack, "Who said anything about hacking?"

* * *

Meanwhile May, Coulson, Fitz and Garrett were in the camera room. Right now they were trying to find Simmons and Trip, but they found Hand instead. This was both good and bad news. Good because they knew where she was, bad because they didn't know how to take her down. Garrett was all for shooting though, the others weren't too keen about that.

"There," May said, "Agent Hand. Outside the East wing situation room."

"This is definitely a situation," Garrett commented bitterly.

Fitz asked, "Is Simmons there? We don't move until we find Simmons."

"I'll say it again," Garrett said loudly, "Best bet to save her use the ventilation system to get above the sit room. Drop down using Fitz's sweet, little mouse hole, and put two bullets through Victoria Hand's heart."

"Yeah, it's an option, sir," Fitz muttered even though he didn't like the idea.

"Without questioning," Coulson asked confused.

"Questioning what," Garrett bit back, "Whether she wants to kill us fast or slow?"

"Last time we did that, we shot the wrong man," Coulson pointed out.

Garrett wouldn't listen to him, he went on, "Because she wanted us to! Phil, this is a battle for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s soul, and we're on the front lines. History will remember us this day."

Coulson replied softly, "That's right. It's for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s murder without consideration is a sure-"

" _Consideration_ ," Garrett asked angry, "Consider this. She had one of my men killed with a bomb rigged to his gas pedal. The other two were floating in the hotel pool, and they weren't doing the backstroke."

"But we can just as easily ice her," May pointed out, trying to ease the tension.

"You don't put someone like her on ice," Garrett snapped, "She had Skye, your kid shot in the stomach. In the _stomach.._ because she was curious. Mike Peterson burned alive and turned into some kind of freak. She tortured you, using the same machine she used to brainwash that bitch in the flower dress. And right now, she's probably doing the same to Agent Simmons… Oh, I've considered it plenty, my friend."

Coulson's eyes widened in shock at what Garrett had just said. He never spoke about Raina and the machine, at least not her being in it. Garrett wasn't there. The machine was something he had mentioned because that was where they found him, but he never mentioned Raina had been in the machine.

"No. Simmons will be fine," Fitz said confidently.

Garrett sighed heavily, "Just being realistic, kid."

"I never mentioned that," Coulson said in a low voice, but May heard him.

"I'm telling you, killing her quick would be a mercy," Garrett went on.

"I never said Raina had been inside the machine," Coulson said, "I never told that to anybody."

"I must have read it in a report, then," Garrett replied.

"You weren't with us," Coulson said, the pieces coming together.

Garrett didn't pay attention, "The point is, how many more have to suffer before Vic gets hers?"

"You showed up right after," Coulson breathed.

Garrett looked at Coulson confused, "What are you driving at?"

"After Skye was shot," Coulson said the realization there, "Quinn said it was so I would lead the Clairvoyant to the cure. That's exactly what I did. I walked you right in there with me."

Fitz and May now put the pieces together and stopped what they were doing to look at Garrett. Everything was too close together, Garrett was the Clairvoyant.

Garrett chuckled softly, "Phil look. It's been a rough day. I-I get it. But you need to take a second and…."

Garrett knew he was caught and his cover was gone. There was nothing left to do now.

He muttered, "Damn it."

Right then seven agents came in, "Freeze! Don't move! - Hands where we can see them!"

They all did as they were told. May was by Coulson, Fitz between them all.

"Easy, fellas," Garrett said calmly.

"Take Agent Garrett into custody. He's the murderer they call the Clairvoyant. He's a traitor," Coulson told them.

Nobody moved.

"Gentlemen, I know Agent Sitwell was in charge of filling your ranks, so at least a few of you know what to do in this situation," Garrett said and shrugged, "Anytime, boys."

Four of the seven agents fired their guns. Three bodies hit the floor with thuds.

"Hail Hydra," Garrett said and the agents said it back, "Hail Hydra!"

* * *

 **Okay guys, I have a problem. I wrote pretty far ahead with this story then got an idea which I then wrote out as well. One version leads Ward to stick with Hydra and work with Garrett while the other version lets Ward stay with Shield. I don't know which one I like better so... I need you guys to tell me. Put it in the comments or PM with either Hydra or Shield and which ever has more numbers will be the story I follow. The next chapter will be up Sunday, so get your votes in.**

 **Teaser**

"You still want me on board?"

"Was that all of them?"

"Survive."

"I didn't enjoy that."


	31. Chapter 30

**A/N: Guess what day it is? You guessed it, it's Sunday! When did I say I was going to post? Friday... Ugh, I'm sorry, but the votes are in from the comments and PM's... *Drum Roll* Ward will be Hydra, but it won't be in the same way as we saw in the show. What I have in store will be what I hope is an interesting turn. Anyway, enough chit chat, here's chapter 30!**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Background: First One- shot. Just an idea I'd been playing around with for the past few days and then this happened. Mild Philinda cause I ship it hard. And just thought I'd say, the baby is supposed to be Skye.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty**

Fitz, Coulson and May had not expected this mission to go from okay to bad in only a handful of minutes. Garrett, one of the most respected and allegedly loyal agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was nothing more than a fraud. He was the Clairvoyant, the man who had caused Coulson and his team a number of problems over these past few weeks. Oh and to top it off, Garret was Hydra. This was a complete bust.

Coulson didn't know what to feel at this point. He had known Garrett for years, they were friends and worked together under Fury as their S.O. After what he was facing with May, he wasn't sure if he could handle anymore surprises from his old friends. Now seeing Garret as Hydra, the Clairvoyant and the man who nearly killed his hacker... needless to say Coulson was angry. However he was sad too, his friend had betrayed him. Two of them had betrayed him, all in the same time frame of a few days.

May was surprised and a little angry, however she was more relieved because Hand wasn't apart of this. After all her and Hand had a deeper history and her betrayal had been killing May this whole time. Now, she didn't have to worry so much about Hand because her former S.O. was still on the right side. That was the only good thing May could think of before everything else blew up.

Skye was still out there. Even if she had Ward to help her, she was afraid Hydra might cross them off. She believed Skye could handle herself, she just hoped her and Ward were okay. That they got the job done and were safe. She couldn't lose Skye, not after everything they had been through over these past few months.

Fitz… he was terrified and even more worried about Simmons than ever. All he wanted was to get out of there, with May and Coulson, get the rest of their team and leave. Was that too much to ask for?

"Those three men in your unit, I guess they asked the wrong questions," Coulson said bitterly.

Garrett shrugged passively, "Until today it was all about keeping the secret."

Fitz asked, "Are you going to kill us?"

"That wasn't my plan really," Garrett replied, "If it was I could have done that anytime I wanted. No, Coulson and I go way back. Back to the days when Fury was teaching us tactics, clearing corners, slicing the pie. Remember Phil?"

Coulson glared at him, his anger rising by the second, "Fury would bury you for this."

Garrett inhaled sharply, "Yeah probably, instead he'll just have to roll over in his grave. He must have uncovered our secret. Top brass did what they had to do. Explains why we've suddenly come 'out of the shadows.' Not a minor inconvenience I might add."

"Top brass," May questioned, one eyebrow raised.

Garrett grinned, "Oh my, yes. Tip-top...We had a good thing going too. Waving the S.H.I.E.L.D. flag as hard as we could. I guess we'll be changing colors now."

"For Hydra," Coulson hissed, "You really believe all that crap. Spreading death and destruction?"

"I wouldn't say I'm a true believer," Garrett explained, "Let's just say I felt the wind changing the direction and swung my sail. You really should too."

"I would die before serving Hydra, you sick son of a bitch" Coulson bit back not missing a beat.

Garrett inhaled again,"I hate to tell you but.. you've been serving Hydra all along. I guess death is the only alternative. It's a sad thing, I consider you a friend. I was happy when I heard you made it through."

"So happy you had me tortured for three days to find out how they did it," Coulson replied sarcastically. "I didn't enjoy that," Garrett said with a hand on his chest, "Phil this is me being honest."

"No John, this is you being a psychopath," Coulson said.

Garrett chuckled, he was going to miss Coulson after his men pulled their triggers and took them out. It would sting for awhile, then it would disappear. Garrett stepped over to stand in front of May. Her brown eyes stared at him blankly, her face devoid of emotion.

Garrett said, "I know you'd follow him to the grave. However I'm going to hold onto you for little bit. Someone of your skills would be very useful to the cause, but I know how you are loyal to Coulson, but I wonder how you'd see things with Skye involved."

May didn't flinch, she forced her to stay calm. It took every fiber of May's strength not to attack him. If he so much as laid a finger on her daughter, she was going to lose it. More than she did when she almost lost Skye the first time or when she did lose Skye all those years ago.

Garrett smirked and turned to Fitz, "As for you Agent Fitz, you'll hold a very high rank. Run our tech division if you volunteer. If not, you'll hold no rank and a lot of pain. Of course either way, your services will be required."

Fitz stood before Garrett, tears in his eyes as he thought for a brief moment. He would never join Hydra, he would never give into this. All he knew now was that he was afraid, he was scared for May, for Coulson. He didn't want to lose them now. He was scared for Skye and Ward, they were still out there and they had no idea if either of them were safe. Most of all, Fitz was scared for Simmons. He couldn't lose her.

Fitz told him, fighting to keep his voice even, "You're going to suffer for what you've done... And I plan on being a very big part of that."

Garrett grinned and hit his shoulder, "I like you kid. Alright let them have it. But shoot that one in the kneecaps and stun agent May."

Garrett walked away while the agents took aim. However Skye and Ward's bomb was taking effect. The lights began to flicker and the ground shook. This could be there only chance.

* * *

Ward and Skye were hiding behind a corner waiting for it to finish.

"Was that all of them," Skye asked when it was quiet.

Ward looked at Skye, "It wasn't as big as I thought-"

The other bombs went off bigger and stronger than the first one had. Ward wrapped his arms around Skye and pushed her against the wall while the ground shook and the bomb exploded.

* * *

When the lights first flickered, Coulson got to May and removed her cuffs. She was more useful without them and he needed a weapon of any kind to fight Garrett. Right now, handcuffs were his best bet. While Coulson fought Garrett, May fought everyone else. Four agents against one, May seemed to like those odds. This would be easy enough for the older agents.

Fitz hid under a desk knowing he needed to stay out of the way. He had zero field training, only a few hand to hand comabt lessons from Ward that one time and brief moments when he was actually out in the field. However he didn't just want to sit there and cower like he was helpless. If either of his teammates needed help, he would help them.

When Fitz saw May was in trouble, he shot at the agent who was going to shoot her without a second thought. Although it terrified him, he was going to be okay. He even helped Coulson with one of his inventions and right after which in turn saved the three of them. It stunned the other agents long enough for Hand and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to come inside. Simmons among them.

Fitz spotted her immediately and he felt a large weight lifted off his shoulders. Simmons ran straight to Fits and wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the hug and buried his face in her hair, he was so happy she was okay. He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he lost Simmons and she felt the same.

"I'm not Hydra," Coulson said firmly.

"We heard," Hand said and gestured to one of the hearing beacons, "Everything."

"Who is," Coulson asked with an edge in his voice, "How deep does it go?"

Hand didn't reply straight away. Needless to say, Hydra had a lot of roots in S.H.I.E.L.D. more than Hand wanted to say. Coulson and Fitz-Simmons waited in the halls watching as agents escorted all of Hydra away. May and Hand were standing a little further away. Hand was observing the agents escort Hydra away while May needed to talk to the woman.

Their conversation was brief one, mainly talking about what happened. May felt like she needed to apologize to Hand for doubting her loyalties to S.H.I.E.L.D. Hand wasn't bothered, things were pretty wild and didn't blame May for the doubt. They would spoken to each other a little longer, but May saw Ward walk around the corner, Skye appeared a moment later.

May felt a weight lift off her shoulders when she saw Skye walking this way. From what she could tell, Skye wasn't hurt and neither was Ward which brought a ghost smile to her face. They were both okay. Skye searched the hallway before she spotted her mom by Hand leaning against the wall. Relief washed over Skye as she quickly made her way over to May with a huge smile.

May walked over to her and opened her arms as Skye practically jumped into them. She was okay, they were both going to be okay.

May held Skye tightly and whispered into her hair, "You good?"

Skye nodded against her shoulder, "Yeah, are you?"

May nodded in return and released Skye from her hug. Skye went over to Fitz-Simmons and they exchanged hugs as well, everyone feeling the release of tension and anxiety. Skye looked for Ward and saw he was talking to Coulson and the look on his face made her frown. Ward looked at the line of Hydra agents and saw Garrett among them. Skye followed his gaze and felt herself choke, she knew how much Garrett meant to Ward.

When Skye looked back at her teammates, she put the pieces together and understood exactly what happened. May told her some other details, but she still got that gist that Garrett was Hydra and the Clairvoyant.

Ward and Coulson stayed behind, while, Skye, May and Fitz-Simmons went to see the pieces of the BUS. Skye felt completely defeated and at a loss. She was staring at her badge with saddened brown eyes, only yesterday had she officially joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and now it was gone. It seemed like no matter what she did, every home she had ever come in contact with would never last.

Skye set the badge down and swallowed her tears, "It's all gone."

Simmons looked up, "In pieces at least."

There had been a lot of damage done to the BUS. Glass was everywhere, all over the floor. Nothing was really left untouched after the agents raided the plane while they escaped inside. Fitz-Simmons were sitting at the little table outside the kitchen with Skye a few feet away from them. May was standing further away, not really in a talking mood. This plane had been like a home to her and held so many good memories with this team and she was sad to see it go.

Coulson had been up in his office after Ward left to join Hand and other agents to transfer Garrett to Fridge. He walked down from his office, but he didn't look at May as they still weren't exactly on the best terms. Instead he focused on the three youngest members of his team.

"Skye," Coulson said, "Try to restore some of the firmware in the plane's systems. Fitz-Simmons, get a crew together help May patch the holes."

The three of them nodded and went straight to work, hoping this would distract them from everything that has happened.

"You still want me on board," May asked stunned.

That surprised May. She was certain he would have wanted her off board, not that she really would have been able to leave with Skye still there. She assumed that must be the reason why she was still here. Coulson looked at her and she saw all the hurt she had caused him. It broke her heart. It never should have happened this way.

Coulson wanted to believe May, he wanted to forgive her, but he was hurting too much. After everything that's happened, he didn't know what to believe anymore. Right now he just needed this plane back in the air and for them to get out of there.

"You're not a friend," Coulson said flatly, "But I do believe you're an ally. We need all the allies we can get. Besides, Skye needs you here."

That was like a slap to the face for May and punch through her heart. Coulson had always been a friend, no matter what. To hear him say that, it really wounded her. Coulson walked away.

"What are we planning to do next," May questioned.

Coulson kept walking and answered, "Survive."

It was all they really could do hold on to what they had and keep fighting until they couldn't anymore.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"Have us wheels up in ten,"

"Plus the HUB."

"I don't know, maybe… Tom Brady."

"We will get through this. I promise you that."


	32. Chapter 31

**A/N: Yay, update.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Thirty-One**

Fitz-Simmons were able to round up enough agents to help them work on the plane, however Fitz requested they find any and all schematics of the BUS. If he was going to be in charge of repairing the BUS he wanted to make sure it was done right. Not to mention he wanted to change and get himself cleaned off before diving into his work. Simmons agreed with that, the two scientist were able to take a breather and calm their nerves before starting to work.

Skye was working on bringing the BUS's systems back online however she was still having difficulty given the damage that had been. She was sitting in the hangar where they had first come through near one of the walls with her laptop plugged in as she began typing more codes. May was helping with the plane's systems as well and was working a little bit on the outside with what she could.

After the first hour she looked over at Skye who was glaring at her laptop as she typed furiously. May never had the chance to really talk to Skye about what was going on, she figured she might as well talk to her now instead of later. The older agent walked away from the BUS and made her way to Skye who looked ready to throw her laptop out a window if there was one.

"Before you ask," Skye says seeing May in periphery, "This is crap. The stupid system won't even start up at all, until those connections are put back in place there's not much I can do."

"The firmware is being repaired as we speak," May replied.

Skye looked away from her laptop and up at her mom, "Are you okay? You should get that arm checked out."

"My arm's fine, it's seen worse days," May smirked lightly, "What about you? How are you holding up?"

Skye sighed with a shrug, "Honestly, not great. This is all… it's just crazy. What are we supposed to do?"

"Survive," was May's reply.

Skye scoffed, "Great, that's so awesome to hear."

May bent down and kneeled beside Skye, "We will get through this. I promise you that."

Skye wasn't sure she was convinced by May's words, but she smiled just the same. Questions were spinning through her head, but she couldn't bring herself to ask her mom any of them. Not after everything's happened in the past couple of hours.

May sighed, "I know I never really explained myself to you about what happened and what I was doing."

"It's okay," Skye said, "I'm not that bothered by you hiding this about Fury. Your reasons are your reasons. I'm sorry I thought you were involved with the Clairvoyant. I just… when Fitz told me about encrypted line, Coulson and I had figured out that the Clairvoyant had been looking through our files and spying on us… I'm sorry I doubted you."

"Are you kidding, I should be the apologizing for this," May said shocked, "You don't need to apologize for anything Skye. I should. I'm sorry the truth had to come out this way. It's on me, period. Put on some clean clothes, take a break from this and relax for a little while. Because there's no telling what's to come."

Skye didn't have the energy to argue, instead she just nodded and watched as May went back to the BUS. Coulson was inside the HUB watching the media and learning about the mess S.H.I.E.L.D. was in. He had heard from Agent Hand before she left with Ward and Garrett that Captain America had stopped Hydra from getting their hands on the Helicarriers. However there was a war coming, that much he knew was true about the situation he was in now.

Hydra was out there, S.H.I.E.L.D. was all over the news and everything was a mess. The only bright side Coulson could find was he still had a team, even with his anger at May. Coulson called Skye in and had her search for anymore secure bases that Hydra hadn't taken over. So far things weren't looking too great, not to mention what Skye had found on the media about what was going on with S.H.I.E.L.D. Since Hydra's outbreak, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been labeled a terrorist organization. Coulson was watching more of the media in the main room when Skye walked in.

"I made a list of S.H.I.E.L.D. bases we believe are secure," Skye told Coulson.

"How many so far," he asked not looking away from the screens, "Seven?"

Skye frowned, "Three."

Coulson looked at her, "Plus the HUB."

"Including the HUB," Skye replied, "It's a preliminary list, I'm sure more will turn up."

Coulson didn't reply. He took a step closer to the monitors and watched all the different news feeds. With S.H.I.E.L.D. the main news about all this and all it's workings, the people out there were surely in a panic. Not to mention Hydra was out there and they had no way of protecting themselves. Watching the screens, everything S.H.I.E.L.D. stood for finally clicked for Skye.

"You were right all along," Skye said and Coulson turned around, "Having all this out there in the world makes it too dangerous and now… there's no one left to protect it."

"There's us, we were lucky enough to make through the Triskelion, the HUB… those battles are just the beginning of this wat," Coulson replied, "Hydra's out there now, but at least our team's still intact. We can fight them and we will."

Coulson left the room while Skye stayed behind to watch the feed. So far she was certain things couldn't get any worse than they already were. After a while when Coulson returned, Skye had found some good news. The Cube had been retaken with all the Hydra agents gone. Now they just needed to hold a little longer until more bases could be secured and more of what was left of S.H.I.E.L.D. could be found.

May arrived to tell them the BUS was almost fully operational. The BUS could fly again, but there were still a few issues with the cargo ramp. However their talk was interrupted when Colonel Glenn Talbot from the U.S. air force came onto the monitor. It was needless to say he had a bone to pick with S.H.I.E.L.D. given everything that's happened. Talbot was going to send a peacekeeping force to the HUB, but Coulson knew it wasn't going to be peaceful at all.

They couldn't fight with Talbot because the last thing they needed was a war with the government when they were already at war with Hydra. Instead Coulson started Odyssey Protocol, they needed to get out of there and fast. Coulson and May were walking to the BUS. They were on slightly better terms than before and Coulson had lost hostility towards her. However he was only speaking to her about business and the situations at hand, it was all he could focus on and May didn't blame him.

"Some of the agents are staying behind to surrender," May told him as they walked.

Coulson sighed, "Wish they'd reconsider. We need all the we can get to fight Hydra. How's the BUS?"

"Fitz managed to Jerry-rig the ramp, but the HUB's fuel reserves were tapped out, we're running low," May replied as they entered the BUS.

Coulson said, "Talbot's landing in less than an hour, can you get us up in the air or not?"

"Have us wheels up in ten," May said and walked through the lab.

Trip had talked to Coulson about staying, but he was reluctant to let it happen. He didn't want him on the plane because of his closeness with Garrett. Lucky for Trip, Simmons came to his aid and got him to stay on the BUS. Every turn Coulson made he was met with some form of bad news. The only way to avoid detection was to stay in the air, but the fuel line was busted and they were already low on fuel. Not to mention they had very little supplies.

The only good thing Coulson could find was they had internet. Coulson told Skye she needed to find anything and everything that proved any of them existed and delete it. It would be easy for Skye since she had deleted herself before, but the only problem was that could not be undone. Coulson didn't care though, it was there only option at this point. They needed to become ghosts.

Skye was worried about Ward and she asked if Coulson had heard from. After all, Hand and Ward should have dropped Garrett off by now. Coulson knew Ward would be fine if anything came up, but even he had to admit he was a little worried since Ward hadn't made any contact. He gave a phone and told him to call her and let him know what was going on.

* * *

Ward was at a barber shop working with Garrett about what their next plan of action was when his phone rang.

"It's Coulson," Ward said.

Garrett grinned, "By all means."

Ward answered the phone, "Sir is everything alright?"

Skye replied with a small grin, "Should I be offended that you called me sir."

Ward chuckled, "Skye."

"I just wanted to let you know that Grant Ward, no longer exists," Skye told him.

This made him frown, "You wanna explain that Skye?"

"Some trigger-happy colonel threatened to pay the HUB a visit," Skye explained, "Coulson had us evacuate before he could lock us all up. Now I'm scrubbing our I.D.'s while Coulson figures out our next move."

"Makes sense," Ward replied, "Agent Hand picked up some navy jets in the vicinity. She has us taking the long route to the Fridge just to be safe."

"Wow you took that surprisingly well, did you hear the part about your identity no longer existing," Skye commented.

"Well it's not the first time my identity's been compromised," Ward grinned, "Have any idea where Coulson has us headed?"

"No idea, but I'll keep you posted," Skye told him.

"Good, I'll catch up with you when I can," Ward told her.

Skye chuckled, "And when I see you next, who are you going to be? You got a clean slate, you can be anyone you want."

"I don't know, maybe… Tom Brady," Ward said, "I always wanted to play quarterback."

Skye laughed, "And date super models, you are so predictable."

Ward shook his head and answered, "No I mean the guy seems to have things pretty worked out and for the record I do have a super model who owes me a drink."

Skye smiled at that, "Smooth… be careful okay."

"You too," Ward said then hung up the phone.

As he ended the call a wave of guilt washed over him. Ever since Skye got hurt by the Clairvoyant, by Garrett, he had been wondering if he was really on the right side.

"Tom Brady," Garrett said, "You hate the patriots."

"The agent Grant Ward she knows doesn't," Ward told him.

Garrett chuckled, "Yeah that straight version of you is something else. I don't even Romanoff could pull that one."

"Well it wasn't without its complications," Ward said bitterly.

"Oh come on," Garrett scoffed as he walked over to the table, "You're not still upset about that."

"Shooting Skye was not part of the plan," Ward snapped, "We had a plan."

"Near zero contact, that was the deal going in. Though your tip about the cellist came in handy," Garrett replied, "If you had a thing for the girl you should have contacted me, I would have asked for your blessing-"

"Don't play your games with me," Ward said as he walked over to Garrett, "This isn't a joke."

Garrett replied seriously, "You don't have to tell me. Your little candy crush was on Centipede's tail long before she was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. Seemed like a good person to eliminate, my bad."

Ward just sent daggers at Garrett's head as Garrett went on, "Listen, if the job was easy, it wouldn't-"

"Yeah the job was to blend in," Ward interrupted, "Gather intel on Coulson's revival, that's it. You said yourself you didn't want any bloodshed."

"That was before I found out Coulson didn't know squat," Garrett said, "You know you would have had an easier time if I gave the kill order week one."

Ward whispered angrily, "Yeah, but you didn't."

"The girl I get, she's cute," Garrett said, "But don't forget what the assignment was. Don't forget who gave it to you and don't forget why….. And cheer up, we're close, closer than ever."

That didn't make Ward feel any better. All his thoughts went back to his team, the ones he betrayed. He wasn't sure if he could go through with all of this knowing the others still believed in him. He knew he was going to have to make a choice soon. Garrett, the man who turned him into who he was... or the team who made him want to be someone different.

* * *

Skye had gathered everyone's badges after what Coulson told her about not wanting to show them. Although Skye didn't it show it to the others, she was really hurting about having to give up her badge especially when she had only just gotten it. Not even two days ago she became apart of S.H.I.E.L.D. and now that S.H.I.E.L.D. was gone… she felt like she wasn't apart of anything anymore. After Skye got the badges from Fitz-Simmons she went to her mom who sitting in the pilot's chair.

"Hey," Skye said softly.

May looked over Skye with a small smile, "Hey. I take it you need my badge."

Skye just nodded, biting the inside of her cheek. All Skye could think about was the fact that every home she had, had before was gone and this was no different. The adult she was kept telling her to be strong, but the little girl inside her was heartbroken.

"How are you holding up," May asked as she stood from her seat to go over to Skye.

Skye licked her lips before saying, "Crappy. This was big for me, being apart of something and then… it just sucks that it's all gone."

"It does," May replied understandingly, "But at least our team is still together. That counts for something."

Skye smiled weakly, "Since when are you an optimist?"

May chuckled sadly and she pulled out her badge. For a few moments she just stared at, thinking of everything she had done in S.H.I.E.L.D. Her face didn't quite show it, but having to give up this badge was breaking her. She didn't want to let it go.

"This must be hard for you," Skye said, "You've been apart of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of your life."

May nodded and handed Skye the badge, "Yeah, but I'll be okay and you?"

Skye looked at the badges in her hands before glancing at her mom again, "We'll talk later."

It was Skye's code for, "I really need to talk and have a breakdown, but I can't talk here."

May grinned reassuringly, "You know where to find me."

With that Skye left and went up to Coulson's office and gave him the badges. She knew she was really upset about losing her badge, but she couldn't imagine what her mom or Coulson must be feeling right now. S.H.I.E.L.D. was their life. They had been apart of this organization for most of their lives and now it was gone. A piece of them was dying on the inside to believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer existed.

Once Coulson had taken the badges, he put them together in a safe when his badge lit up. Skye pointed it out and there Coulson saw coordinates. Director Fury gave him this badge and this crypted message was exactly something the supposed dead director would do. Coulson and Skye went down to the command center and gathered everyone in there.

When Coulson walked in the center, Simmons asked, "So, Director Fury's alive?"

"What did he say, does he have a plan," Fitz asked.

Coulson replied, "He only sent coordinates."

"The coordinates, should put us somewhere in the Canadian wilderness," Skye told them.

Fitz asked another question, "What exactly are we looking for here sir?"

"It's unclear, a rally point of some kind, I'd most likely imagine a safe house," Coulson answered.

"Sir," Simmons said hesitantly, "Have you and Agent Fury used this form of communication."

"Never," Coulson said honestly.

"Then how can you be sure that-" SImmons started, but he cut her off.

"Because this is how he operates," Coulson said firmly.

Trip spoke next, "Could be a trap, so far everything has been. Am I wrong?- Hydra could have sent you those coordinates."

Coulson knew these coordinates were from Fury. He could feel it and knew right now things were tense and his team would need more convincing. He hoped he could get them to have faith in him long enough to find what Fury has in store for them.

Coulson stood in front of Trip, his own badge in hand, "Nick Fury… gave me this badge and when he did I swore an oath. We all did. To serve when everything else fails, to be humanity's last line of defense, to be the shield. These coordinates mean something." Coulson paused and looked around the room, "Right now we have nowhere else to go. I'm certain these coordinates are going to help us and if anyone wants off chutes are in the bay help yourself."

With that Coulson walked away leaving the others in silence. It was their choice to follow him, but with or without them he was going to find Fury.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"he told me you were dead."

You said it first."

"That doesn't mean he was in charge of it."

"we don't have much time."

"I will take care of you."


	33. Chapter 32

**A/N: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS, THE FOLLOWS AND THE FAVORITES! YOU ARE ALL AMAZING AGENTS AND I AM GRATEFUL FOR EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU! *Warning, Philinda fight up ahead***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty- Two**

After Coulson left, Fitz-Simmons and Trip went down to the lab to do some inventory. Trip and Simmons were worried about they were getting themselves into, not to mention how Coulson's been acting. They didn't believe the coordinates were sent from Fury when they heard from Agent Hand the man was dead. Fitz didn't care, he trusted Coulson. He didn't need proof to believe in him, he would do it anyway and it Coulson thought this would Fitz didn't doubt him.

It bothered Fitz immensely with how Simmons was acting and he blamed Trip for that. In all honesty, Fitz didn't like Trip at all and would have prefered Simmons let him get tossed before. However Simmons saved him and now they were all on the BUS. May had gone to talk to Coulson again and the conversation hadn't gone well. After everything that had been happening these past few days, May was starting to notice Coulson was changing.

He was acting different, more frantic and jumpy instead of his usual calm and relaxed attitude. Coulson was sitting his chair next to a window watching the sky's. His once bright blue eyes were now vacant as he thought over the events of these past few days. May was hesitant to talk to him, but she needed to.

"You okay," she asked unsurely.

"Tell you what," Coulson said, "let's skip the part where you act concerned about my well-being. What is it you want?" May kept her mouth closed and Coulson went on, "You came up here for a reason, spit it out."

"I need to take your weapon," May said.

Coulson gave her a look, "You want to share the twisted logic that makes you think that's a possibility?"

"I'm worried you, about this, all of it," May said, "You're acting strange and are sending us into unknown terrain because you think Fury sent you a message. Fury's dead... It's hard to accept and we haven't had a chance to grieve."

"There's no reason to, I have faith he's still alive," Coulson told her.

"That feeling… this belief that he is reaching out to you, Phil," May started, "It might not be Fury reaching out to you, but something else."

"What's that," Coulson asked disbelief coating his words.

"Hydra," May whispered, "Impulses implanted in your brain right next to a beautiful island. There's no telling what else they did to you in Tahiti. For all we know this could be them leading us to a trap."

"Really, that's what you lead into," Coulson said, "It's not possible. Fury ordered the surgery."

"That doesn't mean he was in charge of it," May snapped back.

"Who was incharge of the project," Coulson asked, "Tell me!"

"Phil I don't know," May said.

Coulson scoffed, "Oh let me guess, only Fury knows."

"Yes and without him there's no way to know who's responsible and there is a real danger that Hydra could be controlling your actions or the side effects of the project are taking effect. Either way that's why Fury put me on this plane," May said, "To watch you."

There was a tense pause, both analyzing and trying to get a read on the other. May couldn't read Coulson, he was doing everything in his power to block her and it was working. He could read May like an open book, but he refused to back down regardless of what was going on.

"I'm not going to hand over my weapon," Coulson said, "You want to try and take it from me?"

May didn't reply, she couldn't reply.

"Good, now get out of my office," Coulson told her.

May bit down on her lip, but walked away. Coulson turned to look back at his desk, he felt bad for treating May so harshly, but he was hurting. Everything that had happened was weighing down on his shoulders and he was starting to fall. May felt like her world was crashing down, harder and faster than she wanted or ever expected. She knew Coulson would be upset by the truth and she didn't blame him for being angry with her. However, the promise they had made each other burned in the back of her mind. She was starting to believe the promise they made, the one they renewed over and over again might not have been real at all. May stopped by the door, she had something to say. Something she needed to get off her chest, a question that needed an answer.

Softly May said, "I know I lied about this and kept a lot from you… But it was for you Phil."

"Don't give me that 'it was for you' crap," Coulson snapped and faced her, "Whether it was for me or not, you still lied. You betrayed me. I believed in you, trusted you."

"So what that's it," May asked trying to hide the hurt she was feeling, "I made a mistake in keeping it from you, but no matter what I have been there for you when you needed me. Even after Bahrain."

"I had faith in you," Coulson shouted.

May snapped, "I had faith in you!- Fury came to me, he told me… he told me you were _dead_."

Coulson stared into May's browns eyes as she struggled to keep her emotions at bay. He was angry with her, but he was more hurt than anything else. They trusted each other, they were partners, they were a team. Now Coulson wasn't sure and neither was May. The two of them never talked about Bahrain or his death and he never thought about the pain his death caused on those around him.

He kept his mouth closed as May went on, "I didn't believe him… Every part of me screamed you were alive, this feeling you have, that Fury's out there, is what I felt! For days I kept looking for clues, for a sign, a message, something. The smallest thing made me believe you were still out there and it drove me insane… It wasn't until they lowered you in the ground that I believed you were gone."

May swallowed hard, "When he told me you were alive, I vowed to do everything in my power to look after you, to have your back. No matter what, I was going to be there."

"That's the point," Coulson snapped, "The whole time you were lying to me!"

"To protect you," May shouted, "I promised you, no matter what happens I would stand by you!- No matter what!"

Tears swam in her eyes, her expression filled with more emotion than he had seen from her in the last six years. Coulson didn't speak, he knew what she was talking about. A promise he made her years ago, a promise she made to him. It was a promise Coulson knew he was breaking and he couldn't believe he was breaking it. Coulson felt the weight of his words, the weight of the promise push him down, but her fused to fall. He couldn't, he was to stubborn.

May collected herself after a few tense moments and said lowly, "No matter what has happened, no matter what you've done, no matter what you will do, I will always love and stand by you. I swear it... I meant it, did you?"

May couldn't say anymore, her emotions were spiraling out of control and she was fighting to keep them at bay. Without another word, May walked out fighting the tears that stung her eyes.

Coulson swallowed hard as he remembered their promise to each other, one they had used whenever it was needed. It seems over these past few days that promise hadn't been valid. The question they both had in their mind was, who was to blame for that?

Fitz-Simmons and Trip were in the lab while Skye was sitting in her bunk grabbing the most important things she wanted to carry on their hike. Skye could hear Coulson and May fighting overhead, but she only made out half of the conversation. She saw her mom come down and was about to ask her what happened upstairs, but didn't have the chance. May had run off to the cockpit where she could be alone, gather her thoughts and most of all calm down.

After everything that had happened these past few days, past few weeks, she was starting to completely lose control over her emotions. She couldn't control herself when Skye got hurt. She couldn't control her anger when she attacked Quinn. She couldn't control her concern for Coulson. She couldn't control the heartache she felt. May took a few shaky breaths before she sat down in the pilot's chair, she would have to turn off autopilot soon and land the plane. A minute later, she heard a knock on the door.

It was Skye, "Mom? Mom are you alright?"

"I'm fine," May said a little too quickly for Skye's tastes.

"You don't sound fine," Skye pointed out as she opened the door.

May didn't look back at Skye. She did not want her daughter to see her like this. Not necessarily vulnerable, but on the verge of collapsing.

"What happened," Skye asked as she took her seat in the co-pilot's chair.

"Nothing happened," May told her.

Skye looked over at her mom and said, "You practically sprinted from Coulson's office to here…. Look things are really heavy right now, it might help to talk about it and get it off your chest."

"I'm just bruised, but I'll get over it," May said honestly.

"Well if you need someone to yell at, or vent to, I'm a good listener," Skye said and added before May could reply, "And I do follow orders and protocol, most of the time."

May grinned remembering her and Skye's conversation that night after Hannah left. It was one of her favorite memories with Skye, one she cherished more than anything.

"See you out there," Skye said and left the cockpit.

May grinned softly at that before returning her focus onto the plane. Half an hour later, everyone got ready, putting on winter gear and gathering as much supplies as they could carry without weighing themselves down too much. After all they were going on a hike through the snow. That alone was enough to slow them down.

"Coordinates are about a 7 mile hike from here," Coulson told the group as they gathered in the cargo hold, "The terrains pretty rough, even if it wasn't covered in snow."

"Agent May and I could lead a scouting party ahead, to make sure this isn't a trap," Trip suggested.

Coulson shook his head, "There's no time, in less than eight hours, a NATO satellite will pass directly over us. If the BUS is still here, they'll know…" Coulson looked around at the agents standing before and went on, "I've been doing this long enough to know that something's up there, but this mission has to be your choice. A lot's changed in the last few days, I know you all have your doubts about what we've been doing, about me. But I don't, which is why I'm going to find whatever Fury has waiting for us, with or without you."

Coulson opened the cargo hold, grabbed his badge and compass and walked into the snow. Skye and May exchanged a look, May nodded and Skye walked ahead and followed Coulson with May a step behind.

Fitz looked at Simmons and Trip, "Well you heard the man, we don't have much time."

Together they all walked out into the snow and started their journey, who knows where it might lead to. The hike wasn't so bad, or at least it didn't start out that bad. By mile 3 everyone was tired of walking, but they kept pushing because they couldn't stop. The first half of the hike was done in silence. Fitz-Simmons shared a brief conversation with each other about the past few days.

Things had been heavy on everyone and it was hard. Simmons was losing faith in Coulson and slowly, so was Fitz. He didn't want things to change, but deep down he knew everything had changed and nothing would be as it was before. Skye didn't know what to feel, she walked beside her mom in the snow and asked about what Fury had her do. May really didn't want to talk about it, but she couldn't hide it forever. Instead she told Skye it was to monitor Coulson, to make sure he didn't learn the truth and make sure he was stable. And up until today he had been, but now they were wondering in the middle of nowhere with no way out because of a few numbers.

"What happens if there isn't anything there," Skye asked, looking at her mom worriedly.

May didn't have an answer. She didn't know what would happen if there wasn't something out here. Although she still thought it was far fetched, she wanted to believe Coulson was right and Fury had sent him those coordinates. If not then that had basically left themselves stranded in a snow covered forest with nothing, but the clothes they wore and the few bags they carried.

"I don't know Skye," May said softly, "I hope there's something up there though, if not... I don't know what we'll do next."

Skye looked at her feet and then back at May, "At least we aren't alone. It's a small feat, but… it's something."

May looked at Skye and told her, "I want you to listen to me very carefully... No matter what happens I will take care of you. If things go south, I will fix this."

Skye grinned softly, "We'll take care of each other."

May nodded, "We will. Now come on, we have a ways to go."

"Great," Skye muttered sarcastically.

After what felt like an eternity later, they arrived at the location the coordinates lead them to. It was small clearing with a few rocks sitting around.

"This is it," Coulson said, "There's got to be something here. Stay alert, eyes open. It's got to be here somewhere."

"How long should we look before thinking about heading back," Skye asked.

"We're not going back, not until we find what Fury has waiting for us," Coulson told her.

This sent a wave of concern through the team. Trip asked, "What about the satellite?"

"It doesn't matter," Coulson said, "The BUS used all its remaining fuel to get us here."

"Did you know this before flying us out into the middle of nowhere," Simmons asked worriedly.

"It was the right play," Coulson replied firmly, "Fury sent us these coordinates for a reason."

May sighed, "And what reason is that?"

"I don't know May, I don't know," Coulson said, growing frantic, "There's got to be something here!"

He looked at his badge and back at his team, "This means something! This has to mean something! The world needs us. Hydra is out there! We cannot let them win! We- we cannot let them define us! Do you understand that?" Coulson paused and started again, "We are not agents of nothing! We are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that still carries weight! It- It has to carry weight! After everything we've been through, that carries weight!"

Coulson breathed deeply and looked down at his badge again. His whole life he had been apart of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the realization of it being gone was starting to weigh him down. The idea that Fury was dead was starting to become more believable. His world had fallen apart and he had been scrambling to hold it together, but now… Now he couldn't anymore.

May watched Coulson with sorrow in her brown eyes. She wanted to do something and fix the problem, but she didn't know how. There was no way to fix the problem that laid in front of them. After several long seconds of silence,

Coulson looked up at his team and whispered, "I'm sorry."

He threw his badge in the air and three seconds later it was shot down. Everyone ducked in cover behind the rocks. The machine never fired again, and Coulson believed this was S.H.I.E.L.D. that this was the place Fury wanted them to go. The others were incredibly doubtful considering S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have a shoot first policy. There was one way to know. Coulson stood up and walked in front of the machine despite the protests from the team.

The machine asked who he was and he answered, "I'm Phil Coulson, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

The machine whirred and the firearm disabled as it replied, "Welcome Agent Coulson. We've been expecting you."

The rock wall to the right opened and they went inside.

"What is this place," Skye asked.

"One of Fury's secret bases," said a chubby man in a suit, "I call it Providence although technically it doesn't have a name because technically it doesn't exist. It being a secret base and all. If everyone would follow me."

* * *

 **Teaser**

"What about Skye?"

"You can't just leave me here."

"We're safe here."

"Yes I kept a secret, why can't you let it go?"


	34. Chapter 33

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, high school is rough. Also I put the wrong teaser up last chapter, I'm going to change it later, but for now I have to do homework.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty- Three**

Everyone followed the man down the hall and into what they assumed was the cafeteria. It was small with about six- seven tables, a salad bar, two fridges and some cabinets.

"Pretty cool," the man said.

Coulson looked around then asked, "Who are you exactly?"

"Oh, Eric Koenig agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. level 6," the man, Eric replied.

Coulson told him, "Phil Coulson."

Eric smiled, "I know. I know. It is an honor to meet you, Agent Coulson and I apologize for the kerfuffle outside. The precision remote system was designed to destroy any rapidly moving metallic object."

"It was my badge," Coulson commented.

Eric inhaled, "That's gonna be tough to replace, but very soon, you're gonna be issued your very own lanyard.. Lanyards for others will be distributed on a case-by-case basis."

"What happened to Director Fury," Coulson asked worriedly, "Is he alive?"

Eric shook his head, "Fury didn't make it out of D.C. It's been rough. We're all a little shaken up, especially now that the Fridge has fallen."

Skye gasped and looked at her mom and the team. Ward was headed to the Fridge. What if something happened to him? Was he okay? May nodded to Skye and she pulled out the phone.

"Who is she calling," Eric asked pointing in her direction.

Coulson replied, "We had a man at the Fridge."

"Can I speak to you in private," Eric asked softly and brought Coulson to another room.

It's a large office, with a desk, two counters, a couch and some chairs. Behind the office is a monitor and the right is window.

"It's nice having company," Eric said, "But don't get me wrong. I mean, this place is great."

Coulson looked at the picture window and asked, "What's with the windows?"

Eric replied, "Oh, that's supposed to make the isolation more bearable. Every day of the week, different view. Wednesday's pretty terrific if you like topless beaches."

"So, how long have you been in here," Coulson asked curiously.

"Since the Chitauri invaded New York," Eric answered, "It's not so bad though. Reading a ton of historical fiction, gaming online with my brother. We're racking up major "Call of duty" hours. You play?"

"Of course, but lately not so much," Coulson replied with a grin, "So, was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Eric gaped, "Yes! My bad. Fury is not dead."

Coulson's blue eyes went wide, "What?"

"Yeah," Eric smiled, "Hydra thinks they killed him, but he managed to escape from D.C."

Coulson thought for a moment before saying, "So you just lied to my team."

Eric shrugged, "Well, I don't know them. And those are Fury's direct orders. Only a select few people can know that he's alive Maria Hill, Cap, a couple of others, and now you and me."

Coulson asked, "Where is he now?"

Eric didn't know, "No one knows. Ever since he went dark, no one's heard from him. This is highest priority, full Eclipse protocol. No one else can know."

"I'm not comfortable keeping secrets from my team," Coulson told him honestly.

He was tired of secrets and didn't want anymore to come between him and his team.

Eric frowned, "Well, they haven't been vetted. And if you talk, we're gonna have a major problem."

Coulson asked, "Are you threatening me?"

"100% Fury's orders," Eric replied.

Coulson did not want to keep this a secret, but for now he would. Later, he would tell his team the truth about Fury. But for now he would stay quiet. Once everything calmed down, the truth could come out.

"Not big on the trust, is he? So we're good," Eric asked, after Coulson nodded he went on, "Great! I'm gonna get you set up with a lanyard. Uh, maybe ask Agent May to pull the plane in. I've got a parking space for her and everything."

After Skye hung up the phone to turned to her mom who was sitting at one of the tables.

"Ward's okay," Skye said, "Once he finds transport I'll give him the directions."

"Good thing he's alright," Fitz said, "I don't think I can handle anything else."

"Agreed," Simmons said as she sat down.

It definitely had been a rough couple of days, for everyone. Trip was still hurting about Garrett being a traitor. The man had been his mentor for years and he liked to think they had been close, but it was all a lie. Fitz was still out of it after 'facing' Garrett with Coulson and May. He almost lost two of his team members at once and would have been powerless to stop it. That was enough to make him shut down a little, but he kept pushing forward.

Simmons was just confused about everything that was going on and didn't know what to do or how to feel. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been a large part of her life and now that it was gone, the realization was sinking in and it hurt. Skye sat across from May who was staring at her hands resting on the cold table. After Skye had packed she remembered seeing her mom rush out of Coulson's office and go to the cockpit.

She knew Coulson was angry with her about keeping things from him, but she had the best intentions. Despite how well May hid her emotions, Skye could tell for the most part anyway what her mom was feeling with one look. Right now looking at the older women, she could tell her mom was hurting about more than S.H.I.E.L.D. falling. This looked more personal than that.

"Can we talk, in the hall for a minute," Skye whispered to May.

Before May could reply, Skye walked out of the cafeteria and headed into the hallway. May watched Skye for a minute, but stood up from her seat and followed her. Once May was in the hallway away from the others, Skye wrapped her arms around May and gripped her tightly. Although she was caught off guard by the gesture, May returned the hug.

"Whatever happened," Skye whispered, "Happened. Coulson will get over it and you two will move forward."

May wanted to believe that, she wanted to believe that more than anything. Coulson had been a part of her life for years, losing him once hurt her, but losing him again would crush her.

"I hope so," May whispered softly.

Skye split from the hug and looked into her mom's eyes, "It's like you said, we will get through this. Together. Right now everyone needs a breather and a chance to calm down, but I wouldn't worry. You and Coulson will be fine, all of us will be okay. I know it."

"What did I do, to deserve you," May asked absently smiling at her daughter.

Skye's smile grew, "You're pretty awesome, it only makes sense that I be awesome to."

May scoffed and they walked back into the cafeteria to see Fitz-Simmons talking lowly and Trip looking around the kitchen area. Coulson made his way back to the team. There wasn't much to talk about, yet there was also everything to talk about.

"What's the plan," Skye asked softly.

Coulson looked at the team and told them, "For now we stay here, get settled and regroup. Eric has a place we can put the BUS and get the rest of our things. Did you contact Ward?"

Skye nodded, "Yeah, he's fine. They ran into Hydra, but he got away. I told him I would send the coordinates once I knew what our next move was."

Coulson nodded, "Good, send the coordinates to him, then we can decide our next plan of action."

Everyone followed Koenig to different rooms around the base where they dropped off their stuff and could relax for a little while. May was in a room next to Skye and was getting ready to leave and get the BUS. However before she could go, Skye was at her door still wearing her hiking gear.

"Any reason you haven't put something more comfortable on," May asked putting her hat on.

Skye grinned, "I'm going back to the BUS with you, both of us really need to talk and let off some steam."

"Alright then, what do you want to talk about first," May asked looking at her daughter.

It was then May noticed how upset Skye was. Her eyes were red and glossy, her bottom lip was trembling ever so slightly. She was struggling to hold it together. In all honesty everyone was struggling to hold themselves together, Skye was no exception. None of them were really.

"Everything," Skye said hoarsely, "There's a lot I haven't told you about me and I-I just… I want to talk to you or at least start... opening up more, you know what I mean? I mean we wouldnt go all out now, but soon. If that's-" Skye was starting to ramble which made May smile softly.

She walked over to Skye and said, "I'm here, if you want to talk we can. Do what makes you comfortable and I won't push you. Promise."

There were a lot of things May didn't know about Skye and a lot of things Skye didn't know about her. Their relationship was still new and although they were used to each other and knew each other, they didn't know much about their separate past. May only knew Skye had been an orphan and was a foster child, became a hacker for the Rising Tide and had spent most of her life alone.

It was vague and May wanted to know everything, but she didn't want to push Skye. She wanted Skye to come to her when she was ready. Skye had been wanting to talk to her mom about a lot of things, but every time she would talk herself out of it. Having someone care about her was still new territory for Skye. Letting someone in never ended well for her.

Side by side they made their way outside back into the snow, but instead of using the entrance they came through they exited through a runway. Koenig had a hangar connected to the base itself. Outside the hangar was a mostly clear path that would lead them around the hiking terrain and bring them to the BUS. Skye had never ridden a snowmobile before and was nervous to get on.

"Do you know how to drive that thing," Skye asked as May walked over to it.

"Plenty of times," May said simply, "I'm guessing you've never been on one before."

Skye shook her head with a slight grin, "Never been on one, but first time for everything."

"Don't worry, it's actually pretty fun to ride on," May assured Skye with a soft smile.

Skye climbed onto the snowmobile after her mother and held on tight. Soon her terror faded away and she enjoyed the ride. It didn't take long to get back to the BUS. May had taken some fuel with them to give the BUS so it could fly over to the hangar.

So while May fueled the BUS, she asked Skye, "What's on your mind?"

"I think the better question is what isn't on my mind," Skye replied with a soft grin, "It's just that.. it seems like nothing's changed."

May raised one eyebrow wondering how Skye could say that. Everything had changed in the past few days than they had seen in their time together. At the face May made, Skye laughed.

"I meant for me," Skye clarified, "Whenever I started to feel settled somewhere, it would disappear. As soon as I thought I had a home, it would go away forever. I guess that's why I'm really upset about this. S.H.I.E.L.D. was starting to feel like home and now it's gone too.. I guess some things never change."

May felt her heart shatter at Skye's words. She should have always had a home, she should have grown up with everything, but instead she had nothing.

May walked over to Skye and put her hand on her shoulder, "S.H.I.E.L.D. may be gone, but you will always have a home Skye with us. I couldn't give you a home before, but I will be damned before I let you go without a home ever again."

Skye chuckled at that, "I've been promised a home before and lost it, countless times. What's different this time?"

"You have me and I'm going to make sure you always have a home," May told her sternly.

Skye smiled at May softly, "Thanks mom, for everything."

"I think I should be thanking you Daisy," May said gently and Skye grinned hearing her actual name.

It was nice to have a name that was meant for her. A name that wasn't something thrown together, a name that she hadn't had to pick for herself. It was the name she was always meant to have and she liked it.

Skye sighed, "Your turn, what's eating at you?"

May frowned slightly and replied, "I'm just bruised. I know Coulson has every right to be angry with me for keeping this secret, but… A long time ago before you were born, we made a promise to each other. That no matter what we would be there for each other."

"And he's not keeping that promise," Skye said softly, "I could hear you two fighting and I heard you say something about a promise and no matter what. Was that the promise?"

May nodded slowly, "Yes."

"You two will work it out," Skye said confidently, "I can tell by the way he looks at you that he cares about you so much. He won't be able to stay mad for long."

"What do you mean," May asks curiously.

Skye scoffed in disbelief, "You can't be serious? You honestly don't see it? The way he looks at you when you aren't paying attention screams volumes. I want to say he's in love with you, but it also seems more than that." Skye gives May a sly grin, "Not to mention the way you look at him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," May replies walking to the stairs of the cargo hold.

Skye shakes her head, "Oh yes you do. Come on M. You and Coulson have a thing, don't deny it."

"We don't have a thing," May states flatly, "We were partners a long time ago and have been good friends ever since. That's all there is to it."

"I don't think so, the fact that he was the one you told about me and he's in your locket and now this promise… you two have something really special. You two are in love," Skye says with a gentle smile.

May shakes her head, "No, it's not that."

Skye only smiled, "Denial is not just a river in Egypt."

"Oh my God," May mutters making her way to the cockpit.

Skye laughs, "Awe mom and Coulson… wait a minute. That would be so sweet, but so awkward at the same time."

"What about you and Ward," May says trying to distract from the previous topic.

Skye sighs, "I don't know about us. We shared a kiss before coming here and he owes me a drink."

May knew they were going to share a kiss eventually, however hearing her daughter kiss Ward was a little unsettling. The memory of finding Skye with the other hacker, Miles, came to May's mind. At first she didn't know Skye was her daughter, but when she found Skye in that position, she had been furious. But not because Skye was keeping a secret. It was something more and now May knew what it was.

"I can tell he cares about you," May said taking her seat in the pilot chair, "The way he looks at you when you aren't looking."

"That sounds oddly familiar," Skye teased.

"The point is, I know he cares about you," May responds ignoring Skye's comment, "Do you care about him?"

Skye shrugs, "I care, but I don't know if it's the same. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't….. How did we get on this topic again?"

"Your fault dear," May says with a grin before taking off.

Skye laughed happily and leaned back into her seat enjoying the view as May flew to Providence and brought the BUS into the hangar. Once they returned to the base, Skye went to the showers while May stayed in her room and relaxed. She was exhausted.

After a few hours of downtime, Ward finally arrived to the base and Skye was there waiting for him. The door opened after Ward identified who he was and there was Skye standing a few feet away with a smile.

Ward grinned as he walked inside, "Thought you might have given me bad directions."

Skye chuckled, "At least the machine didn't start shooting at you. You okay? That looks like it hurts."

Ward shrugged, "Not really, it's just a scratch… maybe a broken rib or two though. Hydra is a bitch."

Skye rolled her eyes, "Come on, Simmons should take a look at you. Then maybe we can get that drink."

"Deal," Ward said with a smile.

* * *

 **Teaser**

"You want me to pilot?"

"I didn't ask."

"That's him."

"Are you leaving?"


	35. Chapter 34

**A/N: hey it's been awhile. Rest assured I have not vanished off the earth, but I'm sorry to say that I will have to go away for a little longer. I've had no time to write so it's going to be harder to keep up with my stories. I'm not leaving this story, but my next update is going to take some time. Sorry guys. Thanks for the support, follows, favorites and reviews. They mean a lot to me.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Four**

Skye brought Ward to the lab where Fitz-Simmons made themselves at home, since they unpacked a good amount of their supplies with the help of Trip. Immediately Simmons got to work on assessing Ward while Fitz went to get May and Coulson. After a few minutes, Fitz returned with May and Coulson in tow while Ward was getting patched up.

He told his story, how Hydra took over the Fridge when he and Hand arrived. How the agents took everything they could get their hands on as well as release all the prisoners who were inside. An example of one those inmates was Ian Quinn, this left Skye with a feeling of dread and unease. Although she didn't tell anyone about it, with the exception of May, she still had nightmares about what happened down in the basement. With these prisoners on the loose, there was no telling what kind of havoc they could wreak on the rest of the world, not to mention Hydra was out there.

Ward continued his tale and told them he killed Garrett and how he saved the hard drive from Hydra's hands. They all believed him and Ward actually felt sick with himself for it. There was this gnawing guilt that he couldn't shake off.

Once Simmons finished helping his cuts and he was done with his story, Coulson wanted Skye to run a search over the escaped prisoners and see how bad the situation really was. Fitz- Simmons and Trip stayed in the lab. While May and Coulson watched as Skye did her search. Ward joined them a little while later to see what she found and it was not all that great.

"Quinn is the least scary of the bunch," Skye told them, "And he shot me.. twice."

"Quinn's more a sociopath, a lot of those inmates are full-blown psychopaths, violent, impulsive," Coulson told her.

Skye sighed, "And some with superpowers, lovely. Makes this whole thing about ten times worse."

Coulson hesitated, "Is there a Marcus Daniels on the list, by chance?"

May knew the name was familiar, but couldn't remember where she had heard it before. However she knew it involved someone Coulson cared about. Skye turned the computer around to show a picture of a man, Marcus Daniels. This made Coulson choke.

"That's him," he said sharply, "Cross-check the lost of inmates with crime databases, recent activity. Got a feeling we'll be seeing a slight uptick."

Skye nodded, "Okay, but that's going to take some time. And more computing power than my laptop."

"There's something your laptop can't do," May muttered under her breath.

Skye almost grinned, but continued with her other thought, "Agent Koenig probably has some sort of-"

"I'm sure he'll lend a hand," Coulson told her and turned to Ward, "The plane you flew in on, is it operational?"

Ward nodded as he stood up, "Yeah, want me to pilot?"

Coulson shook his head, "No, you heard Simmons. You stay here and get better. I'm going to take a splinter team out and start going after those inmates, starting with Mr Daniels. I think I know where he's going."

May couldn't let him walk away without saying something. She knew where Daniels was from, where he was going and who he was involved with. This worried May because of who he was going to protect out there and who he was up against. Not to mention leaving the base at this time was not a good idea. Especially after everything that had happened.

"You sure it's wise to split up the team," May said, "Or to leave this base? What if that is exactly what Hydra wants, a distraction?"

Skye nodded in agreement, "She has a point. I mean Fury brought you to this base for a reason. We're safe here."

"Yeah we're safe here," Coulson admitted, "What about everyone else, people who don't have access to a top-secret underground shelter? What about them? I don't know if it's wise, but I know it's right. I'm taking a team, that's the end of it."

Coulson left while May, Skye and Ward were left in the cafeteria.

"That went well," Skye commented as she continued to type on her keyboard.

May sighed, but didn't say anything about it. Ward was silent to, more silent than usual which was something May found odd. However she assumed it was due to killing his former mentor. After several minutes, Coulson came back and told them to follow him, something about orientation. Once everyone was together, Koenig brought them all to a room where a large metal chair was in the center. He explained to them he needed to ask a few questions while in this chair, it was basically the best lie detector in the world.

Fury wanted to be able to make it one hundred percent accurate. He wanted a test Romanoff couldn't beat, no one knew if she beat it since Fury would never tell, but that was his goal. Everyone had to take the test, it was the only way to make sure everyone was secure. Naturally Ward was nervous, but he didn't let it show. They made a line and would go in this order, May, Trip, Fitz, Simmons, Skye and lastly Ward.

Each test took about ten to fifteen minutes. Koenig would start out with basic questions such their name or eye color and then would move on to more personal questions until getting to the end and ask about S.H.I.E.L.D. Everyone passed the test, but Ward had some complications on the way. He still passed, but not without suspicion.

After Coulson spoke to Fitz-Simmons and Trip, he went to the kitchen where May approached him. She knew going in it wasn't going to be a good talk, but she had to speak to him. The tension between them was starting to get to her.

"We need to talk," May said sternly.

Coulson didn't look at her and stared at his coffee, "No we don't."

"Yes we do," May replied, "I should be flying this mission."

Coulson looked at her with an, _are you kidding me_ expression. He knew there was a lot more she wanted to say and it had nothing to do with the mission. However he could see that she was leading into something else, but he didn't care. Despite her reasons, despite their fight, despite everything he was still angry with her and didn't want to be around her now. It wasn't that he wanted her gone, he just didn't want her around _him_ for a little while.

"I made a different call," Coulson told her flatly as he capped his coffee cup, "Stay here. Get the fuel line repaired on the BUS."

Coulson started to leave, but May stopped him, "I remember when you brought Daniels in the first time. This is a personal mission for you, but-"

"We don't do personal," Coulson interrupted, "Not anymore."

"Phil the polygraph cleared me, I'm not hiding anything," May told him earnestly.

Coulson didn't miss a beat as he replied, "You mean you're not hiding anything _else._ Unless you do know who was behind the Tahiti project."

"I didn't ask," May said, "I was ordered not to. And you would have done the same thing. Our job is to follow orders!"

"It's also our job to determine right from wrong," Coulson bit back, "Watching someone in agony, searching for the truth, not saying anything… that's wrong!"

"I was trying-" May started, but Coulson cut her off.

"Don't tell me it's because you care so damn much," Coulson snapped.

"Yes I kept a secret, why can't you let it go," May said sharply, her brown eyes burning into his blue ones.

Coulson shook his head, "Because you were there for me! You were there watching as this was eating me alive and said nothing! When you said you had my back, I didn't think that meant you have it then stab me with a knife."

May didn't respond, she didn't know what to say.

"Fury's no longer around telling you what to do, so why are you here? You want some orders to follow? Follow mine or find somewhere else to be," was all he said before leaving May alone Coulson left the cafeteria, his blood boiling with anger.

He knew it was wrong to be this hard on May, but he was too upset to care. It hurt him too much. Knowing she had been there the whole time with answers he had desperately been searching and never once said anything… It stung far more than he wanted it too. Less than ten minutes later, Coulson left the base with Fitz-Simmons and Trip while Skye, May and Ward would stay behind.

Ward needed to heal, May technically wasn't allowed to go and Skye didn't need to go on the mission. Besides she would rather stay behind with Ward and her mom. The three of them watched their team leave. Skye could see the tension between May and Coulson had only gotten worse since before. That worried her slightly, she would have thought they would have fixed their issues by now. A

fter some time had passed since Coulson and the others left, May had been repairing the BUS, Ward had been wandering around while Skye was with Koenig. For awhile she wandered around then came to sit with him and discovered his lanyards were tracking devices. She joked about it with him at first, but then had an idea. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. surveillance was down, maybe they could use someone else's surveillance to find the missing prisoners. Koenig thought it was a terrible idea considering the only satellite in the vicinity was the NSA and they were already onto S.H.I.E.L.D.

Luckily Ward walked in at the most opportune time. He helped Skye convince Koenig that hacking the NSA was the best way to go. He also learned the hard drive he needed to bring back to Garrett was location based and the only way to open it would be for him and Skye to take a field trip. That made his job harder, but he would figure it out. Skye left to the mainframe while Koenig and Ward stayed in the monitor room.

Ward then left Koenig and went after May. If he was going to get Skye out of there, he would have to get rid of anyone in his way. In all honesty he didn't like the idea of getting rid of May, but he had a job to do and that came first above everything else. However if he could avoid bloodshed, he would. Ward walked onto the BUS with a plan in mind, he would knock her unconscious and hide her somewhere she couldn't get out which would be difficult.

It was better than plan B. If she put up too much of a fight, he would have no choice, but to shoot. He walked onto the BUS to find May inside. There was a lot on her mind and decision she had made, but she didn't know if she could follow through with it. No, she had to go through with it.

"How's it coming," Ward asked as he walked up behind her, "Is it operational?"

May turned around, "Still banged up, but she's ready to fly. The fuel lines repaired and the tank's full."

Ward nodded, "Sweet. What's the range on this thing?"

"Just under 10,000 miles," May said and turned around to grab something, Ward was about to make his move when he noticed May grabbed a large duffel bag.

Was she leaving? Couldn't be, she wouldn't leave Skye. If she's leaving does that mean Skye's going with her?

"Are you leaving," Ward asked confused.

May stopped in her tracks, "Yeah…. I was here for Coulson, but he can't see past me lying to him."

Ward felt his mouth go dry and throat tighten. He was lying to all of them now. He was a traitor, but he was following orders. That was all he knew how to do.

"I get why you did it," Ward told her, "When you get orders, you don't question them. You follow them… no matter the price."

May nodded in reply, "Yeah well this price was too high. I lost him. Coulson doesn't want me here, he doesn't need me."

"What about Skye," Ward asked in a softer voice.

A sad smile formed on May's face. Leaving Skye here was going to be really hard for her, but she needed to go. There was a lot May needed to do and she didn't want Skye to be burdened with any of it. Instead she wanted Skye to stay here in the base where she would be safe.

May looked at Ward and says, "Skye's going to stay. It's better she stay here where it's safe… I know you care about her Grant and I'm asking you to look out for her. I know she can handle herself, she's proved it enough times, but… It wouldn't hurt to have someone else watching her back."

"I will," Ward said honestly, "What should I tell Coulson when he gets back?"

May shrugged and adjusted the bag onto her shoulder, "Whatever you want. He won't hear it, so it won't matter."

Without another word, May left the BUS leaving Ward alone to his thoughts. His talk with May made him think about what he was doing more and more. He knew as soon as the others found out he was Hydra, they would hate him. Maybe he shouldn't follow the orders he'd been given and change sides. Maybe he could do that, but he didn't think he would.

Skye stopped her typing for a few minutes to go and see how her mom was doing on the BUS and to offer a hand if she needed it. After all she was getting tired of looking at this screen. Her decryption was almost done, but she wanted a break. She walked down the halls and stopped by her mom's room to see it was empty. This left a sickening feeling in Skye's stomach because she remembered the backpack her mom left in there, not to mention the clothes she left out.

Weird. Skye started walking to the cafeteria, but spotted her mom walking down the hall with a duffel bag over her shoulder and winter clothes on.

"Mom," Skye called and jogged after her.

May immediately stiffened when she heard Skye's voice. Of course she didn't want to leave Skye behind, but she knew it would be better for Skye to stay in the base. There she knew her daughter would be safe from harm.

"Where are you going," Skye asked softly.

May turned around to look at Skye with soft brown eyes, "There are some things I need to take care of. I left you a note explaining everything."

"You were just going to leave," Skye said shakily, sadness apparent in her voice and in her eyes.

May told her in a low voice, "I couldn't stand to say goodbye."

"When will you be back," Skye asked sadly.

May frowned, "I'm not sure."

Skye replied hoarsely, "You can't just go. I know things have been heavy lately, you're dealing with some stuff and Coulson, but… you don't have to leave."

"I do," May told in a soft voice.

Skye shook her head, "Then take me with you. We can both go and do whatever you need to do."

"No, you have to stay here where it's safe," May replied in a stern tone.

"No," Skye said in a voice just firm, "If you go, I go to, or we both stay."

May sighed, "Sk-"

"Take me with you," Skye pleaded, "You can't just leave me here."

May took a few steps closer to her daughter and put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll be back Skye."

"So why can't I come with you," Skye asked confused.

Skye could feel her heart racing as she stared at her mom. All the times she had to leave a decent home started to come back to her. All the times Skye had lost someone came rushing to her mind making her head pound and chest ache. Her mom couldn't leave her. She couldn't.

May cupped Skye's face into her right hand. This was something she hoped to avoid, but it was just her luck that Skye would catch her before she could go. Besides she knew not saying goodbye would only make her guilty, forcing her to come back and see Skye again. She needed to go and do this, but she didn't want to bring Skye into this. She wanted her daughter to stay here where she would be safe and hidden.

"I'm coming back for you," May whispered to her, "I love you and I'll be back before you know it."

Skye wrapped her arms around May and said, "Promise you'll be safe and you'll come back?"

May squeezed Skye, "I promise Daisy, I promise I'm coming back for you."

* * *

 **No Teaser Today.**


	36. Chapter 35

**A/N: Heavy Skyeward chapter. This is probably really different from what happened in the show, but I wanted it to be different and show Ward in a more... I don't want to say better light, but I'm blanking on the right word to use. Basically I just want to show Ward as a guy who is conflicted and finally goes after what he wants.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Five**

Skye watched as her mom walked out of the base and into the snow. Her mom looked around for a moment then looked over her shoulder to see Skye still standing there with sad eyes. May didn't want to leave Skye, but she knew it was for the best. Once the door closed May started walking while Skye stayed in her spot awhile longer holding onto the promise her mom made her. A promise she knew would be kept.

Quickly she went back to the mainframe and finished her decryption. After typing for another minute or two she now had access to all the sat-feed from the NSA and sent it to Koenig's room. This was going to do a lot of good for them, Skye knew it. She went back to the room where Koenig was supposed to be in and see if he had gotten the feed. But when she got there, she found the room empty. The images she pulled up from the sat-feed were clear which was a good sign. When she found Koenig, she would show him.

However as she looked around, she saw no signs of the chubby agent around which made her wonder where he had gone off too. Skye let a small smile grow on her face, she figured he was probably off playing one of his video games while he was waiting for her to finish up with the satellite.

"You did it," Ward said at the entrance of the room.

Skye hadn't heard him come in and nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned around to look at him and gave him a gentle smile and relieved sigh.

"Koenig said you managed to hack the NSA," Ward told her.

Skye nodded and turned to look back at the screen, "Yeah, it looks like it. Where did Eric go?"

"He's sending everything over to NATO, CIA, Interpol," Ward lied, the words flew easily off his tongue, "I guess he hopes they'll take it as a sign of good faith."

"Smart," Skye commented, "Looks like all I got was lots of empty rooftops."

A brief silence settled over them. Ward was trying to act as casual as he possibly could, hoping not to give Skye any reason to doubt him or suspect him. Even though she had no reason to doubt him, he was afraid she would figure everything out. He was afraid that he would lose her.

No, he couldn't let that happen.

"May's gone," Ward said suddenly.

Skye nodded slowly, she bit her lip and replied, "Yeah... I saw her leave. Do you know why she left exactly or where she was going?"

Ward shook his head no in reply, "I'm sure she wouldn't have told me if I had asked. She didn't tell you?"

"She was vague about it," Skye muttered looking back at the cameras.

Ward gave Skye a sympathetic look, "Are you okay with that? Her leaving."

Skye wasn't sure how she should feel about the situation. Although she knew May could take care of herself, Skye didn't like the idea of her mom being out there alone with no backup or anything. This was the first person Skye was sure she actually loved and she wasn't about to lose her now. Growing as a foster child, Skye learned not to get attached to anything or anyone, but... that changed with this team.

Now she was attached to Coulson., to Fitzsimmons, to her mom and... even to Ward. Even if her feelings for him were unclear, she knew she cared about him. She cared about him a lot more than she should.

Skye inhaled sharply, "Not really. With everything that's going on I think we should all just stick together because right now, that's really all we have."

Ward gave her small smile, but her words cut through him like a knife. All they had was each other, but here he was stabbing them in the back. An awful pit in his stomach formed along with the race of his pulse. He forced himself to stay calm, he still had orders to follow. He still had a mission to complete.

"Almost like us," Ward said softly.

Skye raised an eyebrow, "Us?"

Ward chuckled, he walked over to the little cabinet and pulled out a drink. Skye moved to his side.

"Yeah, us," Ward smiled lightly, "An S.O. is always there for their rookie. They have each other and look out for one another, have their back."

"I guess so," Skye said as Ward poured the drinks, "But we aren't an "us" and it's not like it's good time to start anything."

Ward handed her a glass and said, "There's never a good time, but you got to start somewhere right."

Skye smiled at him, "Let's have that drink then. That's where we'll start."

Ward grinned at Skye, "I'd like that."

* * *

Meanwhile, Coulson and Fitz-Simmons were trying to do whatever they could to protect his former lover from an escaped enhanced person. Although Coulson knew he needed to focus on the mission, he couldn't. Being here and seeing her, from a distance of course, was extremely difficult for him. After all this time he still missed her, but he knew he could never go back to her or see her ever again.

His job was dangerous and there was always the chance that he might not return. He wanted her to know he was alive, but that would only cause issues for the both of them. Besides, she was healing and if Coulson dragged her back into this it would only end up hurting her because she would constantly worry if he was alive or safe. He couldn't do that to her. Not again. He couldn't hurt Audrey a second time.

"You better get going, Daniels will be here soon," Coulson told Fitz, his eyes on Audrey with Simmons on the stage.

Fitz had studied the way Coulson had been acting ever since they arrived here. He could tell his team leader loved the woman downstairs, but couldn't understand why he would stay hidden. Why he wouldn't tell her the truth that he was alive.

Fitz looked at Coulson and asked, "Why don't you tell her the truth, that you're still alive? Sir it's just.. the way she talks about you, sounds like you two had something nice."

Coulson glanced at Fitz before looking back at Audrey, "We did."

"So it's not because you're afraid to talk to her," Fitz clarified as he watched Simmons leave the stage.

He wanted to tell Simmons the truth, but he didn't have the words. He was afraid of what she would do when he told her the truth.

"I don't want to hurt her again," Coulson admitted, "Besides, it's not like I can stay. We have a job to do."

Fitz nodded, "Yeah."

* * *

Skye and Ward had been sitting in the main room just talking with their drinks for awhile. Ward had been internally debating with himself about he was doing here and what he was supposed to do. Maybe if he confessed, they would forgive him and he could have another chance. Over these past couple of months he had really come to love this team, they were like the family he always hoped to have.

How could he betray them?

Ward wanted to do the right thing, but he owed Garrett. Garrett helped him when no one else would. But this team had built him up, made him a better person and made him want to be a better person. Then there was Skye. He wasn't sure if he was in love, but he was sure that he cared about her, a lot more than he should. Looking at her, seeing her brown eyes sparkle as she chuckled. He wouldn't lose her, he couldn't bare it.

Skye, she meant too much to him.

"Okay well, if that's how you felt," Skye said, interrupting his train of thought, "You had a funny way of showing it."

"Specialist don't spend time with a lot of people," Ward explained to her, "The ones we do, we're all cut from the same cloth."

"Black Kevlar," Skye said with a teasing grin.

"Trained to get the job done, keep emotions in check," Ward paused, watching Skye, "but you… you're different."

"Is different bad," Skye asked, her grin widening.

"Bad for me," Ward admitted, his mind spinning with things to say, "I didn't want to think about you. I wanted to stay focused. And then I saw you, after you were shot… fighting to stay alive and… It killed me… But you're right, I'm Kevlar, you're not."

"You don't have to be," Skye said, "You don't have to shut people out."

"Yeah I do," Ward said, his voice breaking, "There are things about me… that you wouldn't like if you knew."

"You think I don't have skeletons," Skye asked knowing all the skeletons she wanted to keep hidden.

"It's different," Ward replied simply, "You're good."

Every part of Ward screamed for him to tell Skye the truth. To tell her everything he had done, to tell her about Hydra and what he was doing. There was a chance if he came clean, he could redeem himself and make things right. But... he had to what Garret told him to do. He was in debt to the man and had to fulfill that debt no matter the costs..

But for the first time in years, Ward wasn't sure if the costs was worth it. He couldn't lose Skye.

Skye wasn't sure what it was, maybe the way Ward looked at her or the tone of his voice, but it was there. It seemed like he was struggling with something. That there was something heavy on his mind and he couldn't bring himself to say the words.

"So are you," Skye told him.

"Not always," Ward said, he set his glass down and looked at Skye, "I lied to you... My older brother, he didn't beat up my younger brother. No, he was crueler than that.. He made me do it. I let him make me do it… I was afraid of him."

"What about your parents," Skye asked, wondering how his parents could let this happen.

"They were worse," Ward said sadly, "I am not a good man Skye. I have done some… terrible things. Even to this day."

Skye shook her head, "It doesn't make you a bad person. You are good too, I can see it."

Ward drew in a shaky breath. What was he doing here? He was worthless, a terrible man who was going to hurt the only woman he ever loved. After so many years of losing everything that mattered to him, so many years of letting himself be pushed around and not fighting for what he wanted or for what was his... he didn't know what to do.

He wanted to do the right the thing, he wanted to have what he deserved, he... He wanted to keep something for himself instead of lose it like he always did. Everything he had ever loved, he had lost. Thomas was gone, so was Rose. As a child his parents took everything he had away from him, his brother took everything from him as well.

Ward looked into Skye's brown eyes and said, "I've lost everything Skye. I had nothing to lose and... I've done things with no regret or no feeling because of that. I can barely consider myself to be human anymore."

"That's not true," Skye told him sternly, "You are human and being human means you aren't perfect. We all have done things we aren't proud of."

Ward shook his head, Skye didn't understand, she couldn't understand. He was a liar, a traitor, a horrible person. Everything he had ever done was wrong, all a lie. For too many years, Ward felt like he was surrounded by darkness and one purpose, to follow orders and do what he was told. But now... he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Skye moved from her seat and sat next to Ward. She could see that all this was eating him up and that he was really remorseful for what he had done. It almost looked like he was at war with himself, from the way his hands were clenching and unclenching in his lap. The anger and sadness in his eyes as he looked at everything, but Skye.

He was broken. If there was anything Skye could do to help him, she was going to do it. Right now all she could offer were words and reassurance that she believed in him. She believed Ward was a good person.

"Hey," Skye whispered softly.

Ward forced himself to look at Skye as he said, "You need to stay away from me Skye. I'm not good for you."

There was only silence for several moments. Skye wanted to say something, to prove to him that she believed in him and that he was a good person. To show him that she did... care for him. That she did love him.

Ward didn't know what caused him to do it, but leaned closer to Skye and she did the same. Their lips crashed together.

Skye felt relief flood through her, knowing he had some feelings for her as well. She melted into the kiss. It was soft, gentle, but full of passion and desire. In all her years she had never been kissed in such a way. It was amazing.

Ward could have kissed Skye forever and forgotten about the rest of the world, but... Not he felt even guiltier than he did before. Here he was, kissing the girl he liked or really the girl he loved and then he was going to betray her and the team he had come to know. Ward couldn't take it. The guilt had become to much for him to handle and broke he kiss.

"No, I can't… I can't do this anymore," Ward said, pulling away from Skye, "I can't lie anymore.. I can't hurt this team or you… I am so sorry."

"Ward, what are you talking about," Skye asked worriedly, wondering what he was saying.

Taking a deep breath Ward stood up and said, "Before I say anything, you have to know I care about you, Fitzsimmons, Coulson and May. I care about this team. You mean a lot to me, all of them, which is why I'm telling you this. You deserve the truth."

"I don't understand," Skye said.

"Skye, I'm Hydra," Ward said breathlessly.

"What," Skye asked standing from her seat, "You're kidding, Ward that's not funny."

Ward shook his head, "I'm serious, I'm an agent of Hydra... I was assigned to this team to get intel. I wasn't supposed to get attached, but… these past few months changed everything."

"You're Hydra," Skye whispered, "That means… you, Garrett? You knew about all of this?"

Ward nodded solemnly, "Yes. I knew about Hydra being here, but we weren't supposed to come out of hiding. I don't know why it had happened early, but it did."

Skye had, had her heart broken before and yet this time... it felt worse than all the others. Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks, but she forced herself not to shed a single tear. He wouldn't see her cry.

Ward could see the hurt and betrayal in Skye's brown eyes. The sight caused his chest to ache, look at what he had done.

"Skye" Ward started to take a step towards her, but she took a step back, "Skye please."

Skye could only shake her head, "You're with them! You- you- how could you do this? Gah, how?"

"He made me, I was loyal to Garret for everything he had done for me as a child. I didn't think, I would just follow orders because that was how I was trained and it was easier to just follow blindly… But not anymore. This is my team. I cannot betray you."

"A little late for that," Skye said sadly.

"I am going to make this right," Ward promised sternly, "You are the first person besides my little brother that I am certain I actually love."

Skye raised a hand to stop him from talking, "No, don't-"

"Skye I love you," Ward said, his brown eyes burning into hers.

Skye sat down on the couch. She buried her face in her hands as she processed everything that had just happened to her. Ward was Hydra, he had betrayed all of them and lied to them about who he was and why he was here. It was a lie.

"Skye please," Ward begged as he knelt next to Skye.

She lifted her head to look at her S.O. with pain in her chocolate eyes and pink cheeks. How could she have been so stupid? Letting him into her heart when she knew, deep down, it would only get herself hurt.

Ward needed to fix this. He needed to prove to Skye that he was here for her, that he was going to lay it all on the line for her. He just didn't know how he could prove it to her when obviously their trust had been broken.

Skye licked her lips, she looked at him and said indifferently, "What's his plan? Why are you here now?"

"He needs you to crack the code on the hard drive, it was my job to bring you to him," Ward explained to her, "But I won't do that. I will make this right Skye. As soon as the others get back I will tell them everything, I will give all the information I have and more."

Skye nodded slowly, "Okay, but not yet."

Ward gave a Skye a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"You are going to take me to Garret," Skye told him, "I have a plan. If you are on our side, then you have to prove it right now. Take me to Garret and I will take his operation down from the inside out."

"Skye, I can't do that, I can't take the chance that-" Ward tried to speak, but Skye cut him off.

"Are you with me," Skye said, her gaze locked on his.

Ward nodded sharply, "I'm with you."

"Then help me end this."


	37. Chapter 36

**A/N: Hey lovely readers.**

 **First off, apologies for the massive delay, but school got very busy and sports took all my free time. Then this chapter was just hard to write. I'm not entirely sure why, but it felt impossible to get any words down for this one. I'm afraid it's not my best work, but you guys needed an update because a whole month has gone by.**

 **Anyway, quick note by the end of season one in this story, so the next few chapters, the story will turn to more of an AU style and Ward being more conflicted about where he stands. I honestly think they wasted his character and development in season two and I'm behind on season three so I don't know what he's doing anymore. However beside the point, I just wanted to give you all a heads up that things are going to start looking pretty different by the time season two comes around. The premise is the same, but Ward will be a better villain. *No spoilers***

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Six**

Ward had been able to follow Skye's plan easy enough, it was quite simple and a stroke of genius in his opinion. The two had been sitting in the main room for ten minutes, making sure they covered all their bases and knew exactly what they needed to do once they left Providence. When the team returned, they would find the base empty, Koenig knocked unconscious, the Bus gone and Skye's hidden message.

In order to make sure Garrett believed Ward was still Hydra, he needed to bring Skye in and his team needed to learn of his betrayal. Although Ward wanted to wait and tell them the truth, he knew he didn't have enough time to wait for them to arrive. Garrett knew the location of this base and if Ward didn't bring Skye in time, he would send soldiers or Deathlok to get them.

Neither of which sounded appealing.

"You ready for this," Ward asked, wanting to give Skye the option to back out now.

He really didn't want to bring her to Garrett. He just wanted to stay in this base, hidden from the world where they could be safe and wait or the others to return. In Ward's opinion, it seemed like the best play. Not to mention he would be able to show Coulson and Fitzsimmons that he was on their side. That he was done with Hydra and would do everything in his power to make up for what he had done.

However, Skye had a plan that he knew would work. The only real flaw would be when the whole team was reunited and Ward would have a lot of explaining to do. Skye would have some explaining of her own, but they would worry about that after they finished the first stages of their plan. Skye wouldn't back down from this, she just needed to do something about Garrett and Hydra and everything else. If there was any way for her to end this chaos, she was going to do it now.

"Yeah, I left the message already," Skye told Ward as they walked to hangar, "One of them will find it and I'll start leaving little trails for them to follow. In the meantime, we take down Garrett's operations from the inside out."

"Do we have to let them think I kidnapped you though," Ward questioned for the tenth time.

Skye sighed, "Well that was your original plan and there are clues which lead up to that. If we change too much, then everything will be confusing and wild."

"Aren't things already wild," Ward replied with a quirk of his brow.

Skye rolled her eyes, "Regardless, you need to follow through with your plan and get us out of here before the deadline. After we deal with the hard drive in L.A. I can send a signal. This will be able to follow the trail."

"And once they follow this trail," Ward asked her.

Skye bit her lip before she replied, "Hopefully by the time we get to Garrett, the virus will have done it's thing giving us an edge."

"What about when you finish with the hard drive at the diner," Ward said, prompting Skye to repeat this part of the plan.

Skye answered, "Then we leave on the Bus and you take me to Garrett with the hard drive. Once inside, I will send a message to Coulson and they will be able to find his operations. _And_ like I said before, the virus will have done it's thing."

"It sounds easy," Ward commented, even though he knew it would be anything, but easy.

"Yeah," Skye said distantly, "Yeah it does."

Ward noticed the change in Skye's expression and voice. Although she put up a good front, Ward could tell that she was really struggling with everything that was going on. He knew he was partly to blame for that. After all Ward had told her was a traitor and that he loved her. It was a lot to take in. Without saying a word, Ward slipped his hand into Skye's. At first, she stiffened at the touch of his warm hand, but a moment later her fingers intertwined with his own.

She squeezed his hand hard, as if he would slip away if she didn't hold on tight enough. Skye had so many doubts about this plan, about Ward/ What if this was all a play? What if he told her about being Hydra so she would still trust him? The real reason Skye wanted to leave the Hydra message was as a fail safe for herself. In case he was actually Hydra, the team would be prepared.

"We'll be alright," Ward told her confidently.

Skye took a deep breath before she whispered, "I hope so."

Skye wanted to believe the plan would work, that everything would work out and they would be okay. With their hands connected, the two of them boarded the Bus and left to Los Angeles.

* * *

When Coulson arrived to see the Bus was gone, he knew something was not right. Trip and Fitzsimmons briefly looked around the base to find it deserted, no one was inside. To possibly learn what happened, the four of them went to main computer room where Koenig had the monitors for the base. Most of the camera feed had been erased, except for May leaving the Bus and some time later, Ward and Skye going onto the Bus hand in hand. Soon after they got on the Bus, the plane took off.

"Play it again," Coulson said, he knew there must have been something he missed.

Fitz sighed, "It's the same every time sir."

"Fitz," Coulson said sternly.

The young man sighed and played the footage back. All they knew were the camera's feed was erased, May had left to go off somewhere while Skye and Ward took the Bus and we're no longer in Providence.

"Where are they going," Coulson asked, "And Koenig?"

"Koenig must have gotten onto the plane somehow," Simmons suggested even though she didn't think that were true.

No one had seen the agent since they arrived. It was as if he had never been here.

Coulson shook his head, "There's no other way in or out of the hangar."

"The blast door and the hangar door are the only two exits," Trip stated.

Coulson folded his arms over his chest, something was definitely not right, but he was having a hard time putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

"And both are undamaged," Coulson said looking at the screen, "Nobody attacked the place and they weren't running away. So why?"

"Maybe Koenig got orders," Trip suggested to him.

Fitz didn't agree and replied, "From who? Not Fury. Is there anyone else to even give orders? Aren't we just improvising at this point?"

"That still doesn't explain why the communication lines were cut," Simmons replied, "Or why they left their phones or why May just… left."

"May walked away because I told her to," Coulson admitted absently, "I was angry, cruel. However, I don't think she'll stay away."

"That's true, after all Skye is still with us," Fitz said, but he frowned.

With so many different things happening, was Skye with them? Was Ward? Were any of them? He didn't know, but he trusted them and believed in them.

There was minute of silence before Fitz and Simmons left the room to get some food. Fitz needed a break from all of the changes, he just wanted things to go back to the way they were before. When they were a whole team, when they were a family not on the run from the world. Simmons had similar feelings, but she just wanted all of this to end. While Simmons went to the kitchen, Fitz decided to go take a short walk to clear his head.

When he passed a closet door, he noticed one of Koenig's pictures was still showing the night image while the one in hall showed a day image. Curious, Fitz walked over to the frame with a scrutinizing gaze. In the right corner, there was an a screw driver jabbed into the frame which was most likely keeping it from changing. After moving it a bit, Fitz was able to get it out and the image changed from night to day.

However scratched onto the day image was 'Ward is Hydra.'

As if on cue, Fitz could hear Simmons scream of surprise and horror.

* * *

Skye was typing away on her keyboard while Ward was spray painting the cars in the hangar. They were going to need a ride once this plan landed and with SHIELD being a terrorist organization now, they couldn't have an association with the logo. Skye always thought that was a dumb idea. For SHIELD to put their logo out there when they were supposed to be a super secret agency that people were not supposed to know about.

Then again, after the Battle of New York, a lot of things came to light. Skye thought about Ward's confession to her earlier, not only about Hydra, but what he said about her. She wasn't sure if she could trust Ward. After all, he had been lying to her and everyone else this entire time. He was a traitor, he betrayed them, yet… Skye felt conflicted about the whole situation. She had been burned before and was not ready to let herself get hurt again, even if her heart was already breaking.

For all she knew, Ward really was a traitor.

Ward noticed Skye's change in mood and wondered what had caused it. They had been working in silence most of the time they were on the plane, but he didn't think it was a bad silence. With everything that was going on, they both needed to settle within themselves for a little while.

"How you doing," Ward asked her when he finished spray painting the car.

Skye looked up from her computer. Ward walked away from the vehicle and into the lab where Skye was working. The question had caught Skye off guard, but she did supply an answer.

"Just thinking is all," Skye told him, "And working on this."

"How come you chose L.A.," Ward asked her.

Skye had geo-locked the drive so it could only be opened in this area. Out of all the places in the world, she chose the diner where she had met Mike and where this whole SHIELD experience had started.

"It's where this all started," Skye replied, looking down at her keyboard.

She wasn't in much of a talking mood anymore. Her old walls slowly rising into the sky once again. There were so many things that could wrong. Skye had so many doubts, so many horrible scenarios of what could happen played through her mind. Skye was starting to slip back into her thoughts again, but Ward spoke.

"Hey," he said, "Are you sure you are alright?"

Skye didn't answer, she couldn't answer.

* * *

Within the hour, they arrived to their location. A small diner in Los Angeles. It wouldn't take Skye long to decrypt that hard drive, but what would take awhile was sending her message without being caught. The hard drive's information she hoped to move and then give Garrett an infected drive which would shut down all his technology, software and hardware the moment he tried to open it.

Ward wasn't sure how much time they had left considering the time limit Garrett set was nearly approaching. Skye knew that, but if she forced through the process all the information could leak out. That was the very last thing they needed right now. The two sat in a booth by the window, Skye went to work while Ward ordered both of them something to eat.

The pair mostly sat in silence, but instead of a comfortable silence it was tense and heavy. Ward knew there was definitely something bothering Skye, but he couldn't put his finger on exactly what was bothering her. Too many things had happened in the past few hours that it couldn't have just been one thing. He wanted to know what was going on through her head. If she really was okay.

"Penny for your thoughts," Ward said, breaking the tense silence.

Skye stopped typing for a moment, but her eyes never left the computer screen. The moment passed and Skye was back to typing again, her fingers flying across the keyboard faster than they had been a minute ago. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but she kept a straight face.

"Unless you are interested in hearing me rant about all the different codes and firewalls, you can keep the penny," Skye told him flatly.

Ward frowned at that, "Skye. What's going on?"

This made the hacker look at him, her brown eyes glazed over. All the emotions Skye had held back threatened to break through the surface, but she refused to let them. With everything going on, she could really use her mother right now. She wondered where May was and if she was doing okay out there. When she returned, Skye knew she was going to have a lot explaining to do. The thought almost brought a smile to her face.

Almost.

"What isn't going on Ward," Skye said bitterly, "I'm not in the mood to talk. So, just let me just work alright."

Ward decided he wouldn't push any further. Whatever was on her mind, she would sort through and talk when she wanted to. The next few minutes went by the same, the two of them sitting in silence and taking small bites of their meals. Skye had been sucked into her computer, her brown eyes focused intently on the screen until Ward. He had gotten out of his seat and made it over to her so fast, it was as if he were faster than lightning.

Without warning, he pulled Skye out of the booth and onto the ground under the table. Glass from the broken window landed on the table and the floor all around them. An explosion, no. It was something worse. The people in the diner were close to hysterics and near the verge of chaos. What happened?

"What the-" Skye gasped in surprise.

"We got to move," Ward said not letting Skye finish.

Ward pulled her onto her feet, his hand gripping her wrist tightly and pulled her out of the diner. Skye hand in his, Ward pulled her away from the diner and across the street past the people and cars. They needed to get out of there and back to the Bus. Deathlok was here. Garrett must have sent him because Ward was taking too long to get Skye back to him.

"Ward," Skye said his name the way a child would say when they were desperate and afraid.

Ward didn't reply. His instinct took control and he was going to get Skye as far away as he possibly could from this area before Deathlok spotted them. Skye and Ward stared at him from across the sidewalk. His eyes held determination, his face was hard as stone. There was one thing on his mind and that was to follow his orders.

Only it was too late.

* * *

 **I'm behind on writing the next chapter, so there is no teaser. :(. BUT next chapter will be posted sooner than this one, guaranteed.**


	38. Chapter 37

**A/N: Wow guys, I cannot believe a year ago I sat down and planned to write a one-shot for SHIELD, but somehow managed to turn it into a multi-chapter fanfic. I cannot express how grateful I am to all my followers, favorites and reviews. It is because of your support that I continued to write this story and see how it turned out.**

 **So Happy Birthday to Never Let Go. With the season one arc coming to close in the next four-ish chapters, I'm currently debating on whether or not to keep the season two arcs in this story or make a new one. Not sure which one I will do yet, but I won't worry about that now. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to each and everyone of you for your support and putting up with me all this time. You guys rock.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters.**

 **Also in the two flashback conversations:**

 _ **Ward**_

 _Skye_

 **Chapter Thirty-Seven**

* * *

Ward had never felt hatred to anyone other than his older brother until this moment. Deathlok, a man once known as Mike Peterson, was standing off to the side of the cargo hold. After the explosions outside the diner and the attack, Deathlok escorted Ward and Skye to the Bus. Skye had been knocked unconscious by the second explosion from Deathlok.

Currently Skye was asleep on a mattress on Ward's left. Ward was sitting at the bottom of the spiral stairs in the cargo hold glaring at Deathlok.

"Glaring isn't going to make me go away," Deathlok said flatly.

Ward scoffed, "If only. How did you even get to us so fast?"

Deathlok shrugged in reply, "It wasn't hard to find you. That signal she sent out to her team was something we were able to pick up."

Ward kept a blank expression, but he was smiling on the inside. Skye's plan was working, even with the unaccounted for guest. He recalled their last conversation before taking off in the BUS to head to California.

 _You told Garrett you would take the Bus beforehand which works for us. The signal of the Bus will show him our general location, but the signal I send out will reach Coulson and the others. Both of them will know where we are_.

 ** _Couldn't they just track the Bus?_**

 _They could, but the second signal is just a precaution._

Ward hadn't thought Garrett would send Deathlok since he thought he would have a little more time. Not to mention Skye being unconscious right now did cause a little unease for Ward regarding the plan. However, the plan they made was still on track even with everything that has happened. Ward looked over at Skye, he could tell she was awake judging by how her breathing had quickened slightly, but he wouldn't point that out.

She had been awake for the past ten minutes, but Deathlok didn't know that. Skye stayed down as she tried to remain calm, but she was afraid. There was no telling what would happen to her and Ward or the rest of her team. Skye took a breath, her plan would work. Now she just had to keep up appearances. So did Ward.

"You should be thanking me I saved your ass," Deathlok told Ward.

Ward snarled in reply, "Setting off two bombs and dragging us here is not what I call saving my ass. You made a public display out there. You were ordered to stay out of sight."

"I was ordered to shadow you," Deathlok corrected, "Garrett knew you had a soft spot for Skye and she knew it to. Thought she would take advantage of it, which she did."

"Well that's wrong," Ward replied, "We have her now. Once we get the locations, then we're off."

"Like hell," Skye said darkly.

Her head still ached along with the rest of her body, but she forced herself to stand. Deathlok wasn't the original plan, but at least the signal went out the way they needed it to. Skye just hoped the others would see it before it was too late.

* * *

Coulson had gotten Skye's signal, it pulled up onto the big screen after they had made a plan to find her. The Bus's location and where she currently was with Ward had pulled up for them to see. Only the signal didn't stay up long which meant something bad must have happened to her. Luckily Coulson memorized the coordinates that pulled up and they were headed out to grab Skye.

Trip had locked onto the Bus's coordinates and now all that was left to do was leave the base and get Skye. Unfortunately another issue arose delaying their plans. The U.S. military arrived, Talbot of all people being with them and surprisingly Maria Hill. Coulson liked to think of himself as an understanding and calm tempered guy, but today he was anything but that sweet man.

The revelation of Ward had felt like a minor stab in the back compared to the way he felt now standing in front of an old friend. Maria Hill was her name, one of the best SHIELD agents in the organization, not to mention a good friend of Coulson's. At least that was how things used to be when SHIELD still existed and he didn't know the truth behind the TAHITI Project.

"I am offering you a lifeline Phil," Agent Hill said to her friend slightly exasperated, "Don't thank me, just take it and we will be on our way."

Coulson replied flatly, "Don't see how thanks are in order considering you just sold me out. Lead the U.S. military straight to Fury's secret base."

Hill shook her head, "No Phil. _You_ lead us straight to Fury's secret base as part of the deal we made."

Coulson scoffed, "You can't be serious."

"You and I are going to turn over these abandoned tunnels to the U.S. government, who will be ever so grateful to take possession of an enemy stronghold in their backyard," Hill told him simply.

"What about my team," Coulson asked.

Hill sighed, "Well they're going to have to go through the system. Interrogation-"

"Not going to happen," Coulson interrupted with a head shake.

"Look," Hill started, "Talk to Talbot. Cough up some meaningless intel about this place. Nothing important of course. Nothing about SHIELD's other installations."

Coulson sighed deeply, "You're still protecting your secrets," he scoffed, "Is there anything specific you're afraid I'll talk about? TAHITI maybe?"

"Phil," Hill tried to say.

"I'm a liability is that it," Coulson went on fighting the anger he felt.

"Grow up Phil," Hill told him shortly, "Of course you're a liability. But I know you'll do the right thing."

"The right thing," Coulson half-shouted, "That's funny coming from you. After everything you and Fury have done?"

Hill sucked in a breath, "It was for your own good."

"For my own good yeah I know, I get it," Coulson replied sharply, "You should have been straight with me. I would have kept your secrets like a good soldier. I always have. But instead you were worried about me when you should have been worried about anyone else!"

Hill bit her lip and nodded before she said, "You're right. We should have seen Hydra coming. But after D.C. they don't stand a chance."

"John Garrett does," Coulson stated matter of factly.

Hill raised her eyebrow in surprise, "Garrett, I heard Ward took care of him."\

"Ward's his secret weapon," Coulson said to her bitterly, "He killed Victoria Hand, then raided the Fridge and now. Now he's got Skye, May's daughter I'll have you know. We were headed to get her until you so rudely interrupted to sweeten your deal."

Coulson stopped when he saw the look Hill was giving him, one of realization, hurt and slight betrayal. It was then he remembered that May hadn't told anyone except Andrew about Daisy's return. Not even Fury knew that Skye was May's daughter. Only the team knew. Maria had met Skye, Daisy, when she was barely in her teen years. Maybe not even a preteen yet. In secret, Maria Hill had been brought under SHIELD's instruction for years until she was old enough to go to the Academy. After the Academy, she became the top agent she was because of that early training.

Hill could only stare at Coulson with shock and surprise. She had been in charge of seeing Ward vetted through. Yet another one of Hydra's agents had slipped past SHIELD without a problem. However the worst thing she heard was May's daughter.

The last time Maria Hill heard anything about May's daughter was shortly after Bahrain happened, May had been distressed about how she failed the little girl in Bahrain as well as her daughter. That was the last time Daisy May had ever been talked about between any of them. Hill could still remember the little baby she had watched for May, the little baby with big brown eyes. To hear that Daisy was alive was shocking enough, but now... Ward had her mentor's daughter.

It was her fault that Daisy was in trouble.

"Daisy," Hill breathed the only word she get out, "She's here? Alive."

Coulson nodded with a slight look of awe, "Oh that's right. May didn't tell you that little detail. How does it feel to know the people you trust would keep something like that from you? Yes, Daisy. Ward, the Hydra agent has her."

Hill swallowed before she spoke, "I vetted Ward."

"You want to make this right," Coulson asked her, "Stop wasting time."

Hill nodded to Coulson. Now she had to fix her mistake, not only for the sake of her friends but to the baby girl she held all those years ago. Just then Talbot and some of his soldiers walked into the room.

"Can we move this along," Talbot said, "I'd like to tear this room apart."

Hill replied flatly, "Go ahead colonel, knock yourself out."

Coulson unbutton his jacket and once he finished, Hill attacked. Coulson joined her and the two of them took down Talbot and his soldiers without a problem. Of course the soldiers didn't go down without a fight. It took Coulson's ICER to end the fight.

Hill sighed, "Get your people. We need to move."

"We," Coulson questioned with a faint smile.

Hill rolled her eyes and left the room with Coulson not far behind.

* * *

Deathlok left Ward and Skye alone, giving Ward one last chance to get the information from Skye. Once he was out of earshot, earshot for his upgrades as well, Ward and SKye spoke about the rest of their plan.

"Are you alright," Ward asked her worriedly.

Skye nodded even though she felt sick to her stomach.

Taking a deep breath, Skye said, "Okay. Deathlok was a curveball, but the signal was out there. I just hope the others saw it in time."

"And that signal will lead them to us," Ward said even though it sounded more like a question in his ears.

Skye nodded although a little uncertain, "The signal on the Bus should still be live, not to mention the signal I put on the hard drive. They can track us without being seen… Ward what happens now? What are you going to do? Everything is wrong, it's all wrong."

"Hey don't choke up," Ward told her, "We can do this. Your plan is working."

Skye shook her head, "No. You were supposed to bring the hard drive to them to crash their system, but now… Now it's here and I have to re-unlock it or who knows what Deathlok will do. Then they'll see what I've done."

"No, they won't," Ward stated confidently, "You can work your way around it. Okay, I know you can. Everything will work out."

Skye's shoulders slumped, "How do you know that?"

Ward gave her a soft smile, "I have faith in you. I know this will work… And look, if Deathlok does come down here to force you to do then you can work your magic. Unlock it, but the virus is still inside remember. Your plan will work."

Skye still was unsure, but didn't argue with him about it. Instead Ward went over a few back-up plans with Skye since it was better to be prepared rather than caught off guard. Skye had to agree and listened to what he had to say. Most of his plans seemed reasonable, but the promise he had her make was one she did not enjoy hearing. It was also one she hoped would not happen.

After they finished going over their various back-up plans and back-up plans for the back-up plans, Ward cuffed Skye to the staircase and went upstairs to retrieve Deathlok. They still had appearances to keep up, now it was time for the next step. Skye had to be defiant, but Ward told her not to go to far with Deathlok. He had orders that he would follow through, regardless of what she did.

"Time's up. You can tell me where to unlock the drive or you can tell him," Ward said gesturing to Deathlok.

Skye felt sick again. Mike was a good man, sure he had his flaws and had been through a lot, but he was still good. He didn't hurt her when he had the chance all that time ago, he wouldn't hurt now. Would he?

"Mike," Skye said sadly, "Please don't do this."

"It's not up to me," Mike, not Deathlok, said to her.

"Yes it is," Skye insisted, "I don't care what they did to you, you are still Mike Peterson. Still a friend. Still a father, you have your son."

"Who I left in your hands, I told you to look after him and where is he," Deathlok asked sharply.

"With his aunt," Skye replied, "A SHIELD team protecting them."

"And what is SHIELD now," Deathlok asked darkly, "Hydra can hurt my son anytime they want and if I get any funny ideas about rescuing him, they push a little button and blow a hole in my skull."

Skye had nothing to say that could stop or help him. If she was going to help Mike, she needed to get to Ace and get the controllers away from his system. However she couldn't worry about that now, she had other things on her mind. For example, what was she going to do?

"There's no way out of this Skye," Deathlok told her, "Tell us how to unlock the drive."

"No," Skye said.

Ward cursed, "Dammit Skye."

He knew she was going to push it, but he hoped she wouldn't go too far. He would stop Deathlok if he hurt her, but… they had to keep up appearance and if Garrett told Ward to back down, he had to listen.

"You could have shot me in Italy, but you didn't," Skye went on, "They made Quinn do it because their is good in you Mike. I don't think you're going to hurt me."

Mike inhaled, he knew he couldn't Skye. Especially after all they had been through, he couldn't hurt her. But he had orders to follow and a job to do. If he couldn't bring himself to hurt her, then someone else was going to get hurt.

"You're right," Deathlok said, "I won't hurt you."

Deathlok turned to Ward and shot a disk at him. Once it hit him, electricity raced through him before it stopped his heart.

"Wha- what did you do to him," Skye asked breathless.

Ward fell to the ground, gasping for air. He hadn't expected that to happen.

"Stopped his heart," Deathlok told her.

"His heart," Skye whispered staring at Ward.

Deathlok turned to Skye, "It isn't beating. He's having a heart attack. I can restart it or not. That is your choice."

Skye looked down at Ward with anger, "He's a traitor. You think I don't want to watch him suffer?"

"Suffer," Deathlok said, "Not die. Garrett doesn't think you're going to let that happen. He might be a murderer, but are you?"

Skye shut her eyes. She didn't have it in her to really let Ward die, even if she was still angry with him. Ward released a breath of air and suddenly he was no longer moving. Heart attack over, now he was dying.

"Okay, stop."

"Where do we unlock the drive," Deathlok questioned.

"Bring him back," Skye shouted.

Deathlok asked again, "Where do we-"

"35,000 feet," Skye said, "it's not based on longitude or latitude. It's altitude."

"You're lying," Deathlok stated.

Skye yelled, "I'm not lying! I-I put the password in and I start the hack. Once w-we reach altitude it unlocks. Now bring him back."

Deathlok pressed a button on his arm and the disk on Ward's chest glowed red. Ward gasped for air, his heart starting to beat in his chest again. Even though he had been on the verge of dying, he had been able to pick up on their conversation. Skye told him the location on where to unlock the drive beforehand, but it hadn't been altitude.

She lied to him because she didn't trust him.

Deathlok unlocked Skye and moved her to the lab, "Start the hack, put the password in and no tricks."

Deathlok went over to Ward, "Get this plane in the air."

"You son of a bitch," Ward gasped as Deathlok got him on his feet.

"Now fly," Deathlok ordered ignoring Ward's comment.

Ward pulled the disk off of his chest and went to cockpit to start the plane. However when he turned the plane around, someone was waiting. Ward couldn't hold back a smile, Skye's plan worked. The team had gotten here.

"This is Hill to SHIELD's 616," said Hill over the speaker, "You have 30 seconds to stand down and surrender."

Ward made no reply, he couldn't. They would have to follow them because backing down now would only put him and Skye at risk. Not to mention the only thing he could think of was the fact that Skye had lied to him.

"I repeat, stand down," Hill said over the speakers.

Her job wasn't to get them to stand down, since she knew Ward wouldn't. Instead, she only needed to buy time. Coulson would sneak onto the plane and get Skye off before take off or just get on board. Whichever came first.

Hill sighed, "You going to answer me Ward or am I going to have to come over there?"

"Maria Hill," Ward said, "I kind of hoped you went down with the Triskelion."

"And I hoped," Hill said flatly, "you weren't the duplicitous lowlife you turned out to be, but here we are. Life is full of disappointments."

"Going to be honest with you Hill," Ward said, "I'm having a pretty bad day. If i were I would get the hell out of my way."

Hill scoffed at that, "Hmm give up Da- Skye and we'll talk about it."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Ward said even though he would love to get Skye away from here.

"You know I never liked you Ward," Hill said, "Not since our first sit down, but I never figured you for John Garrett's lapdog."

"Well a lot of us lost respect for Fury when he picked you as his second," Ward told her and winced to himself, "If he needed eye candy he could have at least picked Romanoff."

He knew he was supposed to act like a jerk, but he was going have a ton more explaining to do after this. At the moment he didn't care, he was angry and needed to last out.

Hill chuckled, "That's funny. I'll tell her you said that. Now hand Skye over or i'll have a squad of F-16's knock you on your ass."

"Even if you had that kind of pull anymore, which you don't, Coulson would never let you do it," Ward stated, "He would never sacrifice Skye like that. But you know Garrett would, so don't follow us."

"It doesn't have to go down like this Ward, you don't owe Garrett anything," Hill told him.

Ward knew that was true, yet he still wasn't sure. Garrett had done so much for him and Ward believed that he owed Garrett for that.

Ward replied, "Yeah. You're right, I don't. Not anymore."

Ward took off, leaving Hill and Tripp confused by his response. They did their part, now it was up to Coulson to get Skye out of there. If he had been able to get on before take off, he would have walked off with Skye. However since that didn't happen, he would be able to take Lola and Skye. When he entered the cargo hold from the floor, he looked around the dark room to see it was empty.

He went up the spiral stairs and went to the "prison cell" on this Bus. It was the only place he could think of that they would keep Skye. Coulson opened the door to find just the girl he was looking for sitting at a metal table.

"Skye," Coulson said, relief in his voice.

Skye stood from her seat and ran over to Coulson. She wrapped her arms around him, she was so happy to see him here. Coulson was relieved to have Skye back, he didn't know what he would have done if lost her again. Not to mention what would happen to May if she lost her daughter again.

"Are you okay," Coulson asked as he held Skye tightly, "Did Ward hurt you?"

Skye shook her head, "No. I'm okay, but the drive. I unlocked it, I gave them the information-"

"That doesn't matter, come on," Coulson said and lead Skye out of the cell, "We need to get to take the cockpit."

"Are you sure," Skye asked warily.

"I can take Ward," Coulson told her.

Skye nodded, but said, "Yeah, but how did you get past Deathlok?"

Coulson stopped dead in his tracks. He hadn't seen Deathlok when he came onboard, he had just walked on.

"Deathlok," Coulson said in surprise, "He's here?"

Skye nodded then her eyes darted from Coulson to Deathlok who was standing across the room. Coulson turned around to see him and decided to make a new plan.

"Change of plans, run," Coulson said to Skye.

Skye ran to the cargo hold while Coulson opened the cargo doors for them to get away. Skye assumed the were going to jump out of the plane and tried to put on a parachute, which she had no idea how to put on. However when Coulson came down, he told her not to worry about the parachute and just get in the car. The two climbed into Lola as Deathlok began to fire his bullets along with Ward, even though he purposefully missed his shots.

The plan had completely taken another turn, but Ward was okay with that because now Skye was going to get away from here. She was going to be safe. Now Skye just had to keep her promise to him. Coulson backed out of the plane causing Lola to go out into the open air and fall. It had taken him a minute, he had been able to turn the flying mechanism on. He knew they hit something important, however it wasn't detrimental.

Coulson could deal with his beloved car later. RIght now his focus was on Skye. Pulling the wheel up, Coulson flew Lola off away from the city and the Bus until he could land on an empty road miles from Hill and Tripp. Skye leaned her head back and sighed. This day had not gone like she thought it would, but even she knew the best laid plans could awry.

Now she needed to make sure she kept her word to Ward.

 ** _On the chance that you go back without me, we should keep this a secret. Me helping you I mean._**

 _What, why?_

 _ **Because it will be too much for them to handle. Once all this settles, I will tell them the truth, but I don't want you to vouch for me. To say that I am helping you. That I'm on your side.**_

 _But why not? Ward that doesn't make any sense._

 _ **Don't worry about it, just don't tell them the truth behind all this. Okay, promise me Skye.** _

_Fine, I promise._

* * *

 **Quick note. Well it's not that quick, but you get the jist. Anyway I used my Author powers and made some changes. I wanted to include SHIELD agents such as Maria Hill and Clint Barton in young Skye's life. Only I just now realized that their canon years kind of ruined that. So in order to fix it, I altered some of the characters ages to fit where I needed them to go.**

 **For example, Maria Hill was not born in '82 like the show says, but instead was born in '78. Instead of Maria joining SHIELD when she was in her late young adult years, she was found by SHIELD as a young girl and one of the first to be brought into SHIELD's adolescent/ child program which I will explain if not next chapter, then the chapter after that. Basically all you need to know is, Maria Hill is older than she is in canon and has known May, Coulson and Fury longer than in canon.**

 **I'll probably do something like this for Barton, Romanoff and others as well, but until I'll explain my plan for them another time.**


	39. Chapter 38

**A/N: First: Happy birthday to the lovely Daisy "Skye" Johnson!**

 **Second: The season one arc is almost over... BUT, season two will be here soon. However I'm indecisive and don't know if I should post the season two arc on this story or make it, its own story. Comment where you guys think I should post season two.**

 **Third:** **I WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU FOR FOLLOWING, FAVORITING AND REVIEWING. YOU ARE THE BEST AGENTS OUT THERE.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Eight**

Coulson drove Lola away to the rendezvous point where the others were waiting for them, they would be staying at a motel in the middle of almost nowhere. Skye was utterly exhausted and the only thing she wanted to do was sleep for days. Unfortunately that wasn't going to happen for awhile, especially after the day she's had. Skye wanted to let Coulson in on the plan she had with Ward, but wasn't sure if it was smart.

Besides would it matter now if she told him? After all, she wasn't sure if she could trust Ward after everything. She hadn't allowed herself to really think about his betrayal because it was too much to handle at the time. However sitting in the silence as Coulson drove down an endless road, she found herself thinking about Ward. Could she trust him? Was he really going to help her? Had he meant what he said that he cared about this team? Was he telling the truth when he said that he loved her?

Skye couldn't be sure, so she would keep quiet for now. When Coulson asked her about her experiences, which she knew he would, then she would tell him. For now, she wouldn't dwell on it. The only other thing she could think about was the original plan that no longer existed. The plan she had made was already gone because she wasn't supposed to leave with the team when they found her.

Her first real plan had gone completely awry from what she had prepared for. Even though the best laid plans can take a number of different turns, Skye had hoped that this plan would work. There was still a chance for it to work despite the fact that she had to unlock the real information on the hard drive. Coulson noticed Skye was being unusually quiet on the road, but he decided not to pressure her about it. She was probably still in shock by what happened.

"How you holding up," Coulson asked her gently.

Skye kept her gaze on the passing scenery as she replied, "Not sure. I don't know what to think or really what to do now… This- this is a mess. I gave them the information and-"

"Hey you didn't have a choice," Coulson told her firmly.

Skye shook her head, she bit back tears as she said, "But I did. I could have said no and… Deathlok was going to kill Ward if I didn't do what he said. I should have let him, but I couldn't… I just couldn't let him die."

"Skye," Coulson said, "you made the right call."

"Did I," Skye questioned looking at Coulson.

"It was a hard one, but you were right," Coulson replied glancing at her.

"And if Ward hurts anyone else then it's on me," Skye said sadly, "Whatever terrible thing he does next will be my fault."

"No it won't," Coulson told her sternly, "Don't think like that. Whatever Ward does is not on you, it's on me. Understand?"

Skye wanted to protest further, but she could tell Coulson wasn't going to back down. Skye ran her fingers through her matted hair as she looked back towards the empty grasslands. It would be another hour or two before they arrived at the motel, Skye wished they could get there sooner, but Lola wouldn't be able to fly yet. It had taken a few hits in the shootout on the Bus.

Coulson looked at Skye again, worry in his blue eyes. He could still sense how upset Skye was and wanted to cheer her up. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. Skye didn't know about Maria Hill. Although Coulson was sure May had told Skye about all of her SHIELD relatives, he knew for a fact that she had not met any of them. Maria Hill, although really going at the time and still new to SHIELD had been let in on May's secret baby. As a matter of fact, Maria had been chosen to be Daisy's godsister.

"Don't worry about any of that for now," Cousin told her, "Instead focus on what I am about to tell you. I'm sure your mother has gone over everyone in your SHIELD family right? You know with where all her closest friends stand with you."

Skye gave Coulson a weird look, why was he asking her this. When Skye was still recovering from her bullet wounds, May had sat with her one day going over some old photos and home videos. Some included agents like Maria Hill, Hawkeye and Director Fury. May had told her about how these few SHIELD members were close enough to her mother that they would have a part in her life. For example, one of the pictures was of a very young Clint Barton holding a baby Skye with a wide grin. Skye had wanted to meet some of them one day, but hadn't thought much of it. May said she would bring her to see them when things settled, but that hadn't happened.

"Yes," Skye said a little confused, "Why do you ask?"

Coulson grinned, "Because you are about to meet one of them. I can't remember if she's your godmother or godsister."

Skye raised her eyes in surprise, "Wait, what? I'm going to meet one of them now? Like today? Who is it?"

"Maria Hill," Coulson said with a fond smile.

Skye smiled in disbelief, "She's my godmother?"

"Or godsister," Coulson said, "I'm not sure which one May said, but I'm leaning on the godsister one. After all she was really young at the time, barely fifteen if I recall correctly. Anyway, she's excited to see you again."

Skye remembered the picture May showed her with Maria Hill as a teenager holding her as a baby. Despite what most people thought, Maria had joined SHIELD when she was a child in secret and officially joined SHIELD when she was in her early smiled, she was about to meet someone from her distant past and she couldn't help, but feel excited. All her previous worries disappeared as she began to worry about meeting her godsister. Suddenly Skye wondered whether or not the woman would like her. She knew it was a ridiculous thing to worry about, especially at a time like this, but Skye couldn't help it.

"Do you think she'll like me," Skye asked worriedly.

Coulson glanced at her with an 'are you serious' look on his face.

The hacker raised her hands in defense, "It was just a question. What if she doesn't like me? Then what, my first god relative hates me."

"You have nothing to worry about Skye," Coulson replied with a calming smile.

Skye leaned back in the passenger seat, "If you say so."

* * *

Maria had been digging through her bags when she heard her room door open behind her. She expected it to be Agent Triplett letting her know if Coulson and Skye had arrived yet the sun was starting to go down. It came as a little shock when she saw that it was Coulson standing in the doorway with a knowing look on his face. There was so much they needed to talk about and so much that they needed to get done before she had to leave and take care of some other business.

"I take it everything went well, you're still in one piece," Maria said folding her arms over her chest as she leaned against the bed.

Coulson grinned at her, "Better than Lola."

"Ward better watch out," Maria commented knowing how much Coulson loved that car.

"Definitely," Coulson replied, "However I didn't come in here to talk about Lola. There's someone I would like you to meet."

Maria sucked in a quiet breath when Skye walked into the room, her brown hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. Even though it had been two decades ago, Maria could still remember the day she met Daisy for the first time.

 _What's her name May?_

 _Daisy, her name is Daisy._

 _You named her after a flower?_

 _Yes, you want to hold her?_

 _Yes!_

Skye walked into the room after Coulson had stopped talking. This wasn't the first time Skye had ever seen Maria Hill, which had been through her hacks and the pictures her mother had, however this was the first time Skye had seen her in person. It was needless to say Skye was nervous about meeting the woman before her, wondering whether or not she would accept her.

Coulson and May had accepted her without a problem, but it was the others Skye worried about. Even though she desperately wanted to meet the rest of her SHIELD family, she secretly wanted to avoid meeting them. Afraid of what they would do, how they would react to who she is now. It was a ridiculous fear to have, but it was one Skye was familiar with. Whenever she had to go to a new foster home, she would be nervous about meeting the foster parents. Would they like her? Would they hate her?

"Hi," Skye said breaking the silence, "I'm Skye."

For a few seconds that felt like hours, Maria studied Skye with a thoughtful gaze. In her mind she comparing Skye to her mother in terms of appearances and going over what she should say in response. Although Maria wasn't bad with words, she wasn't that great at expressing how she felt and right now she couldn't begin to describe how she was feeling.

The former agent smiled, "Maria... Wow, last time I saw you, you were so little and now you're all grown up. Now I feel old."

Skye chuckled lightly at Maria, but didn't say anything since she didn't know what to say.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Coulson said before giving Skye a reassuring smile.

Once the door had closed, Skye turned only to be stopped by arms wrapping around her. At first, Skye was shocked that the woman would just come over and hug her, but she quickly relaxed and returned the embrace. The two women released each other and took a seat on the bed. Before either of them knew it, Maria and Skye were swapping stories of their life.

Skye was thrilled to hear about what her mother, Coulson and the others were like when they were younger. It was nice to hear about the people who were supposed to be her family. It also left an ache in Skye's chest, if she wouldn't have gone missing then she would have spent her life growing up around Maria, Coulson, Fury and SHIELD in general. Skye knew she was just being emotional, after everything that happened in the last week, she was surprised she hadn't broken down yet.

Maria studied Skye for a moment, the grin on her face had vanished and the light in her eyes gone. Whatever Skye was thinking about was definitely making her upset and Maria wanted to know what caused the change. Everything had been going great, neither of them had become emotional about the situation. Perhaps Skye couldn't hold out any longer.

"What's wrong," Maria asked concerned and curious.

Skye sighed, keeping her gaze in her lap she replied, "I should have known you. I should have known Coulson, my mom, all of you…"

Maria instantly knew what Skye meant. This shouldn't be there first meeting, if anything it should have been the two of them reuniting after not seeing each other for a few days or weeks, not years.

"I know," Maria said as she put her hand on Skye's shoulder.

"I wish I could've grown up having this," Skye whispered sadly, "My whole life I feared that my parents didn't want me. That whatever family I had, just left me."

"We did everything we could to find you," Maria said, rubbing Skye's shoulder.

Skye lifted her head to look at Maria with sad brown eyes, "My mom told me that everyone scoured the earth looking."

"She wasn't exaggerating either," Maria said with a small smile, "We may not have been there for you while you were growing up, but I'm hoping, you will let me make it up to you. All of us."

"All of you," Skye questioned, her brow scrunched.

Maria nodded, "Once I talk to your mother, I'm going to leave. When I do go, I have some people I need to contact and let them know a certain kid has come back. All of us want to be there for you Skye, all of us wanted to be there."

Skye swallowed unsure of what to say. Maybe it was the crazy events, the betrayal she felt from Ward, Maria's words or maybe it was everything. Whatever it was, it broke Skye's resolve to stay strong and tears began to slip down her cheeks. Seeing this, although not one for being very physical, Maria pulled Skye into her arms and let her cry into her shoulder. Skye held onto Maria tightly, afraid that if she loosened her grip she would disappear.

"I'm here Skye," Maria said closing her eyes.

"I've always been alone," Skye whimpered, "Why is now going to be different?"

Maria held Skye a little tighter as she said, "Because soon you'll have more family than you'll know what to do with. I promise you that."

* * *

 **Three Hours Later**

May had arrived to the motel that her team was staying in, she met up with Hill outside and she told her everything that happened. However that had been the easy part for both women, the harder part considered a certain hacker.

"I met Daisy," Hill said before May could walk away.

May wasn't surprised by this, she had a feeling that Coulson would tell Hill considering recent events. Originally May wanted to tell everyone at the same time, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen especially given the circumstances.

"I figured that would happen," May replied, "If you want an apology-"

"I don't want you to apologize for not telling me," Hill interrupted.

May hadn't been expecting and asked, "Really?"

Hill nodded in reply, "I might be a little pissed at you for not telling me, but I can understand why you didn't. It's the same reason you wouldn't tell anyone about your pregnancy."

May didn't deny what Hill said, but she didn't agree with her either. When May had first learned of her pregnancy she constantly debated whether or not to tell the people around her. If she decided to keep it a secret then she would have to make sure not to see anyone, but if she told anyone… It was too complicated of a situation. May thought it would be safer for herself to not tell anyone until she was certain she knew what she going to do with the baby.

"Maybe," May said vaguely.

"I want to contact the others about this, Barton, Fury, everyone," Hill admitted, pushing her hands into her jean pockets.

May sighed, she shook her head, "Not yet. I want to be the one to tell them."

Hill nodded in understanding, "I guess I can respect that."

"Good luck out there," May told her.

Hill replied with a small smile, "You too May."

With a ghost smile, May walked into the back of the motel looking for the door to Skye's room. She knew Skye had been close to Ward, to learn of his betrayal probably hurt her more than anyone else on the team. However she knew Skye was strong. When May found her room, she opened the door slowly and walked inside with making a sound. It was dark in the room, but the light from the lamp in the corner helped May find her way over to the bed where she saw Skye's sleeping form.

Half of Skye's face was buried in her pillow, she was still wearing jeans, her boots were still on and what May assumed was the shirt she had worn during the day. Even though May knew she hadn't been gone for too long, it felt as if she had been way from Skye for ages. Years of not seeing her, knowing where she was or if she was alright left, it made May hate being away from Skye.

May smiled at Skye, part of her wanted to wake Skye up, but she decided against this. It must have been a long few days for Skye, it was probably best to let her sleep. May turned around, but a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"You aren't that sneaky," Skye said.

May looked back at Skye to see her grinning sleepily. "I'm plenty sneaky," May said teasingly.

Skye scoffed as she pushed herself up, "When you want to be, but I know your footsteps. When did you get back?"

"Just now," May said sitting next to Skye, "So you met your god sister."

Skye smiled widely, "Yeah. That was really nice, I hope I can see Maria again soon. She doesn't seem like the joking type, but she's really funny. Not to mention all the dirt she gave me on Coulson, Fury, Barton, Romanoff and you, especially."

"Oh really," May questioned with a raised eyebrow, "Do you intend to share this dirt?"

Skye shrugged grinning, "Maybe I will, maybe I won't."

"Hmm, well if you did decide to share this then you would force my hand," May replied with a wicked grin.

Skye eyed her mother curiously, "What exactly does that mean?"

"I still know your sweet spot," May whispered remembering the first time she found out Skye was ticklish.

Skye paled at that and scooted away, "Don't you dare."

"I won't," May said, her hands raised, "Tonight."

Skye shook her head and sighed, "Anyway, did you finish what you needed to?"

May nodded in reply, "I did."

"Does A.C. know you're here yet," Skye asked, when May didn't answer, Skye went on, "I'll take that as a no."

"Don't worry about that, I was going to see Coulson after I checked on you," May replied simply, "How are you handling all of this?"

Skye frowned as she said, "You mean Ward. I guess you know he's…"

"Hydra," May finished softly, "Hill told me. She also mentioned you were his hostage."

"Sort of," Skye said with a small shrug, "It's over now, it doesn't matter anymore."

"Of course it matters," May said sternly.

Skye shook her head, closing her eyes she said, "Can we not talk about this now? Please."

May wanted to press Skye about what happened, but she decided not to push her. Knowing Skye, she would talk when she was ready to talk. May reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small black box with white ribbon.

"I brought you something," May said holding up the box.

Skye looked at May, her brow scrunched in confusion, "Really?"

"Yes," May smiled, "It's from someone you have yet to meet."

"Who else knows about us," Skye asked.

"As of right now, this team and Hill," May replied, "I told you once things start to settle, then you will meet the others to."

"If we keep waiting for things to settle, I think we'll be waiting for a long time," Skye said half-joking.

May nodded, "Yeah, I'm starting to agree with that. Anyway, this is what I brought back."

Skye took the box from her mother and began to open it.

"It's from your grandmother," May said and Skye froze.

It was only for a moment, but May noticed the pause. Skye had never known what it was like to have parents, let alone grandparents. The thought that her grandmother had given her something was enough to make her heart clench. Swallowing her emotions, Skye opened the box and inside was a silver ring band with Chinese engravings all around it. Carefully, Skye lifted the ring with her thumb and index finger.

"Wǒ huì shǒuhùzhe nǐ wǒ de bǎobèi sūnzi," May said softly, "I'll watch over you my precious grandchild."

"It's beautiful," Skye said as she blinked back the tears.

May smiled at her, "My mother wanted to give it to you on your thirteenth birthday."

"I love it," Skye said slipping the band onto her right ring finger, "When can I meet her?"

May smiled, "Soon, but for now why not you get some sleep while I go speak with Coulson."

Skye nodded, "Sleep sounds like a good idea. You aren't going to leave again are you?"

"I'm not going anywhere, I'll see you in a little bit."

* * *

 **Just an FYI, the reason why Hill is called Maria in the section where she meets Skye was done on purpose. I was mainly trying to show that Skye should have known her as Maria instead of Hill like how everyone else knows her. May and Coulson refer to her as Hill because of habit, but to them, she's Maria.**

 **Also, I'm not sure if that Chinese writing above is correct because Google translate can be seriously inaccurate, but you get the gist of what I was trying to do.**

 **See ya'll again later, peace out.**


	40. Chapter 39

**A/N: Here we are, chapter thirty nine! Next chapter will be posted if not in two weeks then in three. Things are picking up speed, season one is almost over. Hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirty Nine**

May closed Skye's door gently, it had been refreshing to see her daughter again. When Hill told her that Skye had been taken by Ward, that Ward had been the Hydra agent she was furious with him and with herself. It didn't make sense that Ward would be  
Hydra or do anything to hurt Skye. May knew that he did in fact care about her, now she supposed he didn't care enough.

The mention of Ward greatly upset Skye and May could understand that, after Skye did care about Ward a lot more than she cared to admit. His betrayal probably hurt her more than anyone else on the team. May released a heavy sigh, if not tonight then soon  
May would have to talk to Skye about what's happened. May crept to Coulson's room, knowing it was time to face him and she was borderline terrified to see him again.

Would he still be furious with her?

Would he push her further away again?

It was doubtful that he would send her away, this mostly had to do with what he told several days earlier. He kept her around because Skye was here. That had been his reasoning, she was an asset and the mother to one of his team members. May pushed the  
memory of his words from her mind, each of them left a bitter taste in her mouth and pit in her stomach. Hopefully he would forgive and they could move past this. They had been friend for too long to lose each other.

While May had been away, she had found the answers that he desperately desired and knew that the truth would not be easy for him to see. However he needed to see it, he had to know and she owed him that. It wasn't difficult to get into Coulson's room,  
but when she arrived she realized that he wasn't in here. Disappointment and relief washed over May as she walked further into the room. Would he be happy to see her? Probably not, especially if he is still angry with her which he no doubt is.

May couldn't really blame him for that though, what she had done was wrong and underhanded, but she thought it was for the best. Losing him once killed her and she couldn't bare the thought of losing him a second time. The sound of the door unlocking  
brought May out of her thoughts. She turned around to see who entered the room, even though she already knew who she would find standing there.

Coulson had finally decided it was late enough in the night and it would be best to get some sleep. It had been a long and rather stressful few days for the agent. From the fall of Hydra, the fight he had with May, the danger of his former lover and nearly  
losing Skye had taken it's toll on the man. He released a silent sigh as he entered his room.

His heart skipped a few beats when he realized that he was not alone in here, but he quickly relaxed when he saw who it was. An overwhelming amount of joy washed over Coulson at the sight of May, even if the lighting hid most of her face from him he was  
just glad to see her. There was so much he wanted and needed to say to her, but the words would not come to him.

"Hi," Coulson said and mentally kicked himself for it.

Was that really all he could bring himself to say to her? Through the dim light, he could see a small smile form on her face, but she made know verbal reply. This didn't surprise Coulson, he had always been the one to start the conversations. Coulson  
took a hesitant step closer to her.

"I knew you would come back," Coulson went on gently, "I'm glad it was sooner rather than later. Ward is-"

"I know," May interrupted gently, "Hill told me."

Coulson nodded, a ghost smile on his face, "I dropped the bombshell."

"I know that too," May said, Coulson could hear the teasing in her voice.

Coulson chuckled nervously, "You would. Listen May I-I'm sorry for everything."

"You don't have to apologize," May responded, a little hoarse, "You have every right to be angry."

"But I shouldn't have taken it out on you, what I said, how I acted was wrong," Coulson replied, his blue eyes burning into her brown eyes.

May shook her head, "We-I shouldn't have lied to you."

"Maybe not, but it doesn't matter now," Coulson replied in a firm voice, "I'm just glad you're back. I-I don't know what I'd do without you Mel."

The corners of May's lips twitched upwards as she tried not to smile. Using their first names and old nicknames on each other was not done often unless the situation was serious or fragile. Coulson studied May for a moment, her mouth curved down and her  
expression changed drastically. May had never been one to show a lot of emotion, to see this quick change and see it so clearly worried Coulson.

"What's wrong," Coulson asked.

"There's something you need to see," came May's reply.

Coulson frowned, "By your tone I guess I'm not going to like it."

"I don't think so," May said somberly.

* * *

Skye felt terrible for keeping what happened with Ward a secret from the others, but she would keep her promise like he asked. However sitting in the motel room with Fitzsimmons while Coulson and May were in the other room had her reconsidering her decision.  
Would it be better if she told them? Or would she end up keeping this secret forever? What would happen if they saw Ward?

Fitz was convinced that Garrett had done something to Ward. He couldn't believe that his friend, his brother even, would betray them all like he had. Surely there must be some explanation to why he had done the things he had.

Simmons on the other hand was simply crushed. The man who saved her life, protected her on more than one occasion was a liar and traitor. Had everything been a lie? Did he ever care about any of them or was it all part of his plan to get close to them?

Simmons and Skye hadn't been paying close attention to the news, but they did look at the screen when they heard a notorious drug lord had been killed. The catch, the killer had been monster, man and machine. Mike Peterson or Deathlok as he was called  
now. Skye frowned, she wished she could help Mike and get him out of there, but there wasn't anything she could do for him now.

"The correct answer is D," Fitz said and faced the girls, "All of the above.- What the hell is Deathlok doing in Bogota?"

"And why would he kill a drug lord with known ties to Hydra," Simmons added.

"Well if they really are in Columbia then Garrett and our hijacked plane might not be in American airspace," Skye replied, she looked between the two scientists, "We'll have to expand our search."

"Great," Fitz muttered sarcastically.

Coulson walked through the door connecting the two rooms. He looked at the three former agents for a moment and paused. For a second he felt like a dad telling his kids to come out of their room so they could have a family meaning. Coulson would have  
smiled at that on any other day, but there was more pressing stuff to be concerned with.

"Guys, you want to come in here for a minute," Coulson asked.

Skye exchanged a glance with Fitzsimmons before getting out of bed. May stood by their "drawing board". It was mainly a sketchbook placed on a stand that would be found in a game like pictionary. Skye would have assumed that's where it came from if they  
were still on the Bus. Simmons liked pictionary. Once Skye and Fitzsimmons were seated, Coulson began gesturing to the circles on the paper.

"This is just about everything we've been dealing with," Coulson said, he paused to write in the center, "And this connects them all."

"Cybertek," Skye questioned.

Coulson nodded, "Cybertek built Deathlok, shipped items to Quinn who was working for the Clairvoyant who turned out to be Garrett who planted Ward on our Bus because he wanted to know why I didn't stay dead… Should have drawn another chart for this part."

"No, I get it," Fitz said, "Garrett's been developing centipede serum all this time."

"Yes," Coulson said.

"And he wants GH-325 as it's final ingredient," Simmons added, "A way to stabilize and regenerate his centipede soldiers."

May spoke next, "And it's why Ward came back for the hard drive. It had all of your research about Coulson and Skye. It's all there."

"That's not the only thing on there," Coulson said, "Skye left them a little surprise."

"A trojan horse," Skye explained, "It's been slowly mapping every system they've uploaded it to."

"Wells that's brilliant, a trojan horse, you can wake it up and take over their systems, well done Skye," Fitzsimmons said together.

"Yeah thanks, except it doesn't work that way because I didn't have enough time to build it," Skye replied and pulled out a red flash drive, "Soo we need to plug this into one of their computers to activate it. Spoiler alert, we can't seem to find one."

"Until now," Coulson said.

"I think we have one," May went on, "Garrett and Cybertek have been working together for years. If it's on Garrett's system."

"It's on Cybertek's," Skye finished.

May nodded, "Which is why we're going to go into one of their offices."

There was a beat of silence before Coulson spoke, "We have no authority to do this. We're no longer SHIELD agents, we're-"

"Vigilante's," Fitz said with a nod.

"I was going to say, doing this because it's the right thing to do, but yeah.. So if you're with me, I'm going to finish what I started. I'll be damned if I let Garrett and Ward get away with murder. And I want my plane back."

It was official. As a team they were going to take Garrett and Ward down with everything they had. After Coulson's little speech, the group separated to their own devices. Coulson remained in the room with May, he wanted to ask her about Skye.

He noticed quite the change in Skye and could tell there was something weighing her down. He didn't know the extent of what had happened to her in her time she was with Ward, she wouldn't talk about it. Not to mention she was more withdrawn than she had  
been, ever. With everything he had seen in the last day, he wanted to make sure she was doing okay.

"You alright Coulson," May asked, her brow furrowed.

Coulson sighed, "I'm alright, but I'm worried-"

"About Skye," May said with a knowing look.

"Yeah, how'd you know," Coulson asked a little surprised.

May frowned, "Because I'm worried about her. I know she's hiding something, something she either doesn't want us to know or something she just can't tell us."

"I want to know what happened while she was with Ward," Coulson said simply, "I know the betrayal hurt, but there's something else."

"I know, that's what I'm going to find out," May said before leaving the room to find her daughter.

Coulson watched her go. Now that he was alone, he let his thoughts wander to what happened the other he let his thoughts wander for a minute. The other night he had seen something that turned his world upside, again, and it was still heavy on his mind.  
He had been the one in charge of project TAHITI before resigning. It was more proof that his memory had been altered and it scared Coulson.

What else had been changed? Were there more memories missing? Were there more memories added? What were the other side effects to TAHITI that he didn't know about? Would Skye suffer from the side effects as well? With what happened to Skye and the drug  
in her, he wondered if the side effects were triggered. This worried him greatly, but he wouldn't talk about it now.

May went to the room she shared with Skye to find the young woman lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. After the little meeting, Skye had retreated to her room hoping to clear her head and not think about anything. She didn't want to think about  
Hydra, SHIELD or Ward. Honestly she just wanted to forget everything that had happened and go back to the way things were before Hydra came out of hiding. Skye was pulled from her thoughts when she realized she wasn't alone.

"We need to talk," May said as she approached her daughter.

Skye didn't say anything in response. May took a seat on the edge of Skye's bed and looked down at her daughter with concern. Whatever was going on with Skye was more serious than May originally thought.

"Skye, what's bothering you," May asked studying Skye.

Skye didn't look at May, but she did reply, "I'm angry. I'm so angry."

"About Ward," May guessed.

Skye laughed harshly, "Yeah. You know what he said before we left? He told me that he was Hydra."

"He did," May said surprised, "If you knew then why did you go with him?"

"I was afraid," Skye said, "He became a stranger in that moment and I had to play along."

May nodded in response, "That was a smart play."

Skye inhaled sharply, "He said so many things to me and I have no idea if any of it was true."

May raised an eyebrow, "What else did he say?"

Skye turned her head to look at May with glossy eyes, "That he didn't want to hurt the team. That he would make this right, that we could take down Garrett... That he loves me… I wanted to believe that he was telling the truth, but I just can't. He lied  
to us about everything, who's to say he really cared? It was all apart of the plan."

May was silent for awhile, processing what Skye had told her. The betrayal obviously would hurt, but he said he loved her and that was what hurt the most. After learning someone had been lying all this time, it's hard, nearly impossible to believe anything  
they say. Skye sat up slowly and brought her knees to her chest.

Absently she went on, "Every time I let someone in, I get hurt. I let him in and… I feel like my heart is broken again..."

"Do you love him," May asked softly.

Skye didn't answer her question, "He's Hydra. He was probably just trying to manipulate me the way he's been doing. He was lying the whole damntime, we don't even know who he really is."

May put her hand on Skye's shoulder, "Skye, do you love him?"

Skye didn't answer, her response was silence.

"Daisy," May said sternly.

"I'm not answering that question," Skye said fighting to keep her emotions in check.

May stared into Skye's eyes, "Why not? Because it's true?"

"I hate him," Skye said hoarsely.

"I don't think so," May replied with a knowing look, "I think you care about himmore than you are willing to admit."

Skye shook her head, but kept her mouth closed.

"Do you love you Ward," May asked a second time.

"Yes," Skye said sadly, "I loved him, I love him... I want to hate him! I've had my heart broken before but this... this is worse. There was just something about him. He was just as broken as I was if not more. We didn't talk much about the past, but  
the times we did talk... he understood me in a way no one else ever had."

May pulled Skye into her arms. Skye didn't flinch away or protest, she only buried her face in May's shoulder and held onto her mother tightly. May felt her heart clench at Skye's words. There was so much pain in her usually bright brown eyes. The sight  
of her daughter in this emotional pain made May's blood boil and her ever angrier with Ward. He would pay for this. He would pay for all the crimes he committed and for hurting Skye.

"He's going to pay for this Skye," May told her, "I promise you. He won't get away with hurting you like this."

* * *

 **Here's a Teaser**

"We'll get him."

"Can't you just be happy for me?"

"He broke her heart."

"I've uploaded everything to the lab in Cuba."

"I can't live without her."


	41. Chapter 40

**A/N: Okay guys, so with school starting and my new workload, finding time to write is going to be difficult. This chapter had been prepared already, but the next chapters are still outlines and scenes pushed together. So one of two things is going to happen.**

 **One: I can post shorter chapters, like this chapter, so roughly 2,000-3,000 words and update every two weeks.**

 **OR**

 **Two: I can post once a month, similar to how I have been doing, but with 4,000+ words each chapter.**

 **Vote in the comments or PM's. The one with more votes will determine how chapters will be from now on.**

 **As always, thank you all for the support and sticking around with this story for so long. Season one is nearing the end. No spoilers, but I will say this chapter is opening up subplots for different characters.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter 40**

Skye didn't say anything. Instead, after a few moments, she pulled away from her mother and moved to go to the bathroom to wash her face. May had felt true rage before, a number of times of actually. However the anger she felt towards Ward for putting  
Skye in so much emotional pain turmoil seemed to test her limits. It didn't show on her face of course, but she was angry.

If she had to face Ward and she had a feeling she would, it would not end well for him. For the time being she couldn't think about Ward or what he had done. They had a mission to do, a job that needed to be completed. First step was information, the  
second would hopefully be a location of where Garrett or Ward would go. Once they were found, they could begin step three, taking Hydra down.

* * *

Ward was annoyed, specifically with Garrett. Even though Garrett had never been much of a caring person, Ward couldn't believe his mentor ordered Deathlok to kill him. What if he had been wrong? What if Skye would have let him die? Would Garrett have  
called off his orders? Would Deathlok have re-start his heart? It seemed the only thing Ward ever knew was betrayal and getting hurt by others. Was all of this worth it?

He would continue to help Garrett, especially since he felt indebted to him for all he had done, but when this was over, would he stay. Once this was over, would continue to work by Garrett's side? What about Skye, would he see her again? Ward hoped so,  
he desperately hoped he would be able to see her again. It didn't make any sense to him, why he cared about her as much as he did.

He knew Skye didn't trust him, but he could understand why she didn't trust him anymore. In his mind he wanted Skye to trust him again, he wanted to rebuild that bridge again, where they could trust each other. Would she want that? What if she wanted  
nothing to do with him? Ward released a heavy sigh, he needed to do something to get his mind off of his ever racing thoughts.

"Ward," Garrett called from the black spiral stairs, "Come up here a minute."

Ward didn't reply, he didn't get the chance since Garrett had already retreated back into Coulson's office. Shoving his previous thoughts aside, he made his way up to Coulson's office, a bittersweet feeling settled over him. Garrett was seated behind  
Coulson's desk, in Ward's opinion he looked out of place in this room, but he didn't say that.

"What did you need," Ward asked, an indifferent look on his face.

"Obviously something is on your mind and I need you focused," Garrett replied, Ward barely picked up on the dark undertone, "You still sore about Deathlok?"

Ward glared at Garrett, his voice rose, "You were going to let me die."

"Okay, first let's use indoor voices," Garrett said.

"Since the day we met I have done everything you asked," Ward hissed, eyes narrowed.

Garrett rolled his eyes, "Not sure we can say everything."

"You were going to let Deathlok kill me to get the hard drive," Ward meant at as a statement, but it sounded like a question in his ears.

"We both know the girl wasn't going to let you die," Garrett replied simply, "Look, we're on the verge of completing something I've been chasing for twenty-five years to accomplish. Can't you just be happy for me?"

Ward made no comment, his glare only intensified. A knock on the door brought their attention away from each other. Raina stood in the doorway, her posture was timid, but Ward could see it was manipulating move on her part. A power play of sorts, to hide  
her true motives behind an unassuming appearance. Smart of her, only she didn't need to keep up with them. Ward wondered why she did.

"Sorry to interrupt," Raina apologized, "I wanted to give you an update."

"What is it," Garrett questioned, leaning forward in his seat.

Raina replied, "We're close to replicating the drug that healed Skye and brought Coulson back to life. All the data from the hard drive has been a big help. I've uploaded everything to the lab in Cuba."

"You never disappoint do you flowers," Garrett said grinning.

Raina smiled sheepishly, but it quickly faded, "There is something else I feel worth mentioning." Raina glanced at Ward, "It's about Skye."

Already Ward did not like this conversation. Skye had been on his mind for hours on end, haunting his dreams and surrounding his thoughts. It was terrible that he thought of her so much, that all he wanted was to be by her side, talk with her or just  
be in her presence. Ward couldn't explain what it was, but there was something about Skye that made him forget.

He could forget all his dark deeds with her. He could be himself when he was with her. He didn't have to hide who he was, his personality and some of his secrets anyway were revealed to her. Skye had become someone important to him, more so than he could  
ever admit again. Only once had he said how much he really needed Skye.

That had been months ago, when she was lying on her death bed. Ward could remember sitting with her once, giving May a chance to eat and shower while the others were busy. The thought of being without her literally pierced his heart. When she breathed  
again, when he knew she was going to live, he had never felt so relieved in all his life. For once he had something to lose.

He remembered holding her limp hand, squeezing her fingers so tight because he was afraid if he loosened his grip, she would be gone.

 _I can't live without her_.

"What about her," Ward asked in a low tone.

Raina replied, "While I have been working on the hard drive and the drug, I've been looking through the files Skye downloaded from the plane. In addition to medically records, I found hospital files, adoption agency searches."

"Skye was an orphan," Ward said, "That's not exactly a secret."

"Where are you going with this," Garrett asked curiously.

"Her DNA," Raina answered, "It matches someone I heard about a while ago. I can't confirm yet, but there was a story about a baby girl. There was a village massacre in the Hunan Province several years ago."

"May and Skye were separated, as far as I know they were in the US when it happened," Ward said vaguely recalling what Skye told him.

Raina replied uncertainly, "Perhaps, but what about after they were separated? I was able to dig through some of Agent May's files. She and the baby's father had been to the Hunan province roughly a year before the massacre."

"That can't be a coincidence," Garrett said, his thoughts turning.

Raina went on, "The baby's father along with others tore that village apart looking for her. If Skye is that baby, then that means not only is her father, a monster in his own right, is going to hunt her and her mother down."

* * *

 _Melinda knew coming all the way out here was not safe, but she had no other choice but to go. How could she not go when she had believed him dead all this time? No, she needed to see him. She squeezed him a little tighter, inhaling his scent and bringing her back to the time they had spent together long ago._

 _"I'm so happy you're alive," Melinda whispered._

 _Cal breathed a laugh, "Yeah, me too."_

 _Melinda unwrapped her arms from around Cal and he released her from his embrace. It felt good to hold her again, to know that she was okay. Cal could only stare down at Melinda, a happy smile on his face. Melinda was so happy to see him again, he was alive and he was going to be okay. Whether she wasn't paying attention or too focused on her emotions to care, she didn't see the look in his eyes. It was one clouded by darkness and insanity. Cal's eyes traveled lower all the way to the small-medium baby bump._

 _He looked up at Melinda again, "You're pregnant?"_

 _Melinda nodded, a sad smile, "Yes."_

 _"Let me guess, is it a girl," Cal whispered with a sparkle in his eyes, "When? Who?"_

 _"You, our night at the safehouse brought it," Melinda explained simply, she didn't want to tell him that she planned to give the baby away._

 _Cal laughed, "M-Me? A f-father. I-I can't believe i-it."_

 _"Cal what happened to you," Melinda asked him, "I thought you were dead. The explosion-"_

 _"I survived, well obviously otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation, Anyway, once I had come to I immediately started looking for you," Cal replied in his usual manner, but Melinda noticed he sounded off._

 _Melinda brushed the thought aside, "Well you found me and now it's going to be alright. Come on let's go."_

 _"Go where," Cal asked confused._

 _"Back to SHIELD, they can protect you," Melinda answered softly._

 _Cal scoffed at that, his eyes narrowed, "Yeah because that worked out so well last time. No Melinda, we can't go with SHIELD.. Too dangerous, we have to go somewhere else. Somewhere that you and the baby will be safe."_

 _"Cal-" Melinda started, but was cut off._

 _"No Melinda," Cal said sharply, "We need to leave and go somewhere where they won't find you. Where SHIELD won't even be able to find you."_

 _Melinda blinked in surprise, "Cal I can't just up and leave."_

 _"Yes you can and we will," Cal replied darkly, "I won't let them hurt you or our daughter."_

 _"I never said it was a girl," Melinda replied confused, "I don't know the gender."_

 _Cal kept his lips in a firm line for a long moment, "I think it's a girl. We need to go."_

 _He reached to grab Melinda's arm, but she jerked away._

 _"I'm not going anywhere," Melinda said harshly._

 _At lightning speed, Cal grabbed her upper arm. His grip was tight on her upper arm, tight enough to hurt and she had a feeling it would bruise. Melinda stared at Cal in disbelief and confusion. The look in his eyes reminded her of a predator._

 _"Cal, let go," Melinda said sternly._

 _"I can't do that, I promised I would keep you safe and I intend to keep that promise," Cal said simply._

 _Melinda pulled at her arm, but his grip only tightened. She call-_

"May," Coulson said suddenly, pulling May from her thoughts.

May blinked hazily, her mind still far away as images crossed the forefront of her mind. Cal staring at her with black eyes. The fire light illuminating the forest with a golden glow. Coulson screaming at Cal to get away from her. The SHIELD agents forcing  
Cal to his knees. His words echoing in her mind as Coulson guided her away. She didn't know the gender of the baby then, she hadn't wanted to know yet Cal believed it was a girl.

 _I'll find you! I'll find you and our daughter, I promise you that!_

She knew in Cal's mind, it was meant to reassure her. However to her it had been a threat, a warning. He would come for her and her daughter. He came for Skye and told her to follow, only she never could and Skye had been gone from him as well.

"Yes," May said slightly confused.

Coulson frowned, "You seemed really far away. What were you thinking about?"

"Cal," May answered with a frown.

"What about him," Coulson asked curious, concern in his eyes.

May shrugged, she leaned back against the brown wall of the motel, "About the day I saw him at the Hunan province. You remember when I went to meet him."

He did, "Yeah, I remember," Coulson replied softly, "What's got you thinking about him."

"This morning when we got the files on Deathlok and Garrett, I had seen a file with his name on it," May answered a little hesitant, "I did grab it and read about some of his past dealings. Most of it research."

"Why would his file be there," Coulson questioned more to himself than May.

May replied with a knowing look, "Cal worked with Cybertek to help them with some research. The facility we were trapped in had support from Cybertek."

"You don't think he could find her," Coulson said, even though he knew the answer.

May released a heavy sigh, "He could, especially if he has anything to do with Deathlok or Garrett. All it takes is something small and he could find her. He knows how to find me, if he comes here then he'll find Skye."

"I doubt he'd make the connection between Cybertek and Skye, not to mention the files could be older," Coulson said, trying to assure her Skye was fine.

"The files are six months old," May said flatly, "That's too close for comfort."

Coulson did agree with that, however this conversation had taken a very dark turn. The only time Cal was ever mentioned was when May was surrounded by a storm of emotions. Otherwise, Cal was not someone she would speak about. Coulson agreed, but he decided  
he wouldn't stretch out the combination.

Right now May didn't need to think about the past and the what if's of their situation, instead she had to focus on the present. Coulson thought a change in topic would work, besides he wanted to ask about Skye and see if she was okay.

"How did your talk with Skye go," Coulson asked.

May rolled her eyes, knowing what Coulson was trying to do, "It went alright. I did learn why Skye was so bothered about it. I won't go into details, but I will tell you this. He broke her heart."

Coulson glanced at May, "What do you mean?"

"Ward is sick," May replied darkly, "He told Skye the truth about Hydra, then told her he loved her. He used her emotions against her and left her in a state of emotional conflict. She cares about him, loves him even and he claims to love her only to  
end up being a Hydra agent."

"In other words, he broke her heart," Coulson said gently.

May nodded, her eyes forward, "Yes. I am furious."

Coulson could understand her anger, "We'll get him."

"Will we," May questioned, her brown eyes searching Coulson's blue ones.

Her friend nodded, determination in his eyes, "Without a doubt."


	42. Chapter 41

**A/N: We have a winner. After counting through the comments and pm's, the pm's were a popular place for votes and it would seem more people wanted longer chapters. SOOO that means updates will come once a month. I want to try and get them twice a month, but Junior year is really tough and I have to keep up my grades or else I lose FF. But that aside, I hope you enjoy. Next chapter we'll get a confrontation between May and Ward. Potentially a Skye and Ward confrontation.**

 **That's all I got for now. See you guys later.**

 **There's a lot of transitioning between scenes in this chapter, but I don't think it's too difficult to follow.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter 41**

"Sir, we found the bus," Simmons said softly, "It's on an airfield outside Abel Santa Maria packing up to leave."

Coulson: _We're on our way. How far is that from our location?_

Simmons replied, "About three hours, but by the looks of it, they'll be long gone by the time you can get here sir."

Coulson: _Get out of there, right now. Do not engage. Wait for us back at the jump jet._

"Copy that sir," Simmons said, a little dejected.

Although she had never been a true fan of field work, she felt that being out here so close to the BUS that she should do something. Anything that could help her team. While Coulson and the others had gone to investigate a "barber shop" she and Fitz had been sent out here where they could track down the BUS. Well there it was about to take off and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

Simmons hated feeling helpless, it seemed to be a feeling she was growing quite accustomed with. Especially after everything that had happened in the last seven days, that feeling refused to leave her alone.

Simmons turned to Fitz, "Coulson said to leave and wait for them."

Fitz looked away from the BUS, "But?"

"I know we're not supposed to engage, but if they get away we'll be back to square one," Simmons said, "I can't handle square one again."

Fitz looked through binoculars again, "Garrett's there, which means Ward's probably there too."

Simmons took the binoculars, "What if we send a dwarf into the plane from here?"

She turned to Fitz, "It can stow away inside so we can track where the Bus is going."

"Yes, Simmons," Fitz said nodding, "Excellent suggestion. We can send Sleepy, he's our best listener. Next to you of course."

Simmons chuckled.

Fitz took that as a yes, "Okay. I'll get him from the car."

The scientist walked away, but was stopped by a face he was not prepared to see.

* * *

Coulson ended the call, he turned to May and Skye, "Garrett's leaving."

"We have to at least try and get over there," May said.

Skye shook her head and pulled out a little red flash drive, "Or not. We still have this puppy. If there's a computer system in that barbershop we don't have to chase him anymore. We can just plug it in, wake up the Trojan Horse and we're off to the races."

Trip nodded, "It's worth a shot."

"Alright then," Coulson said, "Let's do it."

Coulson climbed out of the vehicle, followed by May with Trip and Skye coming out last. Ever since the talk with May yesterday, Skye had a goal in mind. She needed to face Ward, to see if everything he had ever said was a lie or if there was some truth there. She needed to know that not everything was for nothing. If she could find Ward, she could find the answers that she desperately needed. Ward had been her friend, her potential lover. Could they keep that alive if it was true?

Skye wasn't sure if she wanted that, but she was sure that she needed to know the truth. For too long lies and secrets had dictated her life. It was time for all those lies to be revealed.

* * *

Ward was surprised to find Coulson had sent Fitzsimmons out here, especially since both were not exactly the best spies or field operatives. It stirred some unwanted feelings in Ward, a lot of worry and a little bit of fear for the two scientists. Although Ward was certain Garrett wouldn't torture them, there was still chance the two would be dead by sundown. Ward didn't want that to happen, he wouldn't let that happen either.

Ward walked ahead of Fitzsimmons onto the BUS, when he saw Garrett he spoke, "Here they are." Fitzsimmons stopped walking, the two guards behind them stopped as well.

"This is our plane," Fitz stated with a level gaze, "We want it back."

Garrett mocked, "Really? Just like that kid?"

Fitz inched his hand closer to his pocket where a joy buzzer was waiting to be used.

Garrett smirked at them, "Coulson probably figured out we're using the barber shop. Call Kaminsky, he'll know what to do. All right let's close up the ramp, get this bird off the ground. Tell the pilot to keep it low in a harrier mode until we're out over the Gulf."

Ward glanced at Fitz, he saw the movement and moved to the scientist in one step. He grabbed his wrist, Fitz stared at Ward with the same expression. Ward did his best to ignore the betrayal in Fitz's eyes. He also did his best not to look at the pleading and desperate look on Simmons' face as she watched him. Once again, Ward wondered if he was doing the right thing helping Garrett.

"What's this," Ward said when he opened Fitz hand.

Garrett looked at it, "A joy buzzer?"

Fitz smirked, "Yeah. You know me, always kidding around."

Fitz pressed the silver button, sparks shot out from the lights around them and little streaks of electricity went through Garrett. The older agent hunched over, Ward moved to his side.

"Looks like the jokes on you," Fitz said, his eyes cold.

The guards grabbed Futz, holding him in his place. Ward disappeared down to the lab, Fitz had shorted out Garrett with an E.M.P. disguised as a joy buzzer. Some old spy tech that Trip had given him.

As Ward grabbed some equipment, a little frantic, the same question that had been nagging him for days came back again. Should he continue to help Garrett? Was it worth it to? Ward pushed the thoughts away from his mind, he needed to focus on Garrett. He was dying and would die if he didn't help him. When Ward got back up, he went to straight to Garrett to see if there was anything he could do for his mentor.

Fitz said, "I'm glad I did it. You lose, we win."

Garrett glared at Fitz, "You're dead."

"Well no worse than you," Fitz replied bravely, "And you, you don't have to take orders from him anymore, Ward. Let him die. He deserves to die!"

Ward stopped for a moment to glance at Fitz. It was true, Ward didn't have to keep working or helping Garrett. He didn't owe Garrett anything, but Ward couldn't stop himself. For so long, Garrett had been the only one Ward could rely on. Could he really let that all go?

Ward shook the thoughts, "Get them out of here."

The guards roughly pushed Fitzsimmons out of the common room and into a cell. Ward watched them go before he went back to work and try to stabilize Garrett. Yet, even as he did so, Fitz's words echoed in his mind.

 _Let him die. He deserves to die!_

"I talked to Cybertek," Raina said pulling Ward from his thoughts, "They're prepping a facility in Miami."

Garrett said weakly, "Good."

He looked at Ward and grabbed his jacket, "I need you to do something for me."

Ward nodded, "Yeah sure. What is it?"

"Put down Fitz and Simmons," Garrett said.

Ward blinked twice before answering, "What? No. We still have plenty of time."

"I'm telling you to cross them off for me," Garrett said hoarsely, "That's not a weakness is it?"

Ward swallowed sharply, "No."

"I'll stay with him," Raina offered. Ward glanced at Raina, then looked at Garrett again.

The specialist nodded curtly. Without a word, he walked out of the common room to where Fitzsimmons had been taken. As if to make matters worse, everywhere he looked reminded him of all the times he had had with this team. The missions they had gone on. Having each others backs when things got tough. However his more favorable moments were the downtime they shared, when things were calm and they could act their age. Where they were laughing, joking around and having a few drinks with each other. Nothing else seemed to matter in those moments except that they were like a family in them.

A family was something Ward hadn't had in a long time, something he was certain he would never have. Yet he had Fitzsimmons, there were like his younger siblings. Kids he wanted to keep safe because they couldn't protect themselves. Coulson and May turned out to be mentors to him, teaching him new lessons that he had never paid much attention to before. Then there was Skye.

The first person to see him as he was and not who he tried to be or who he pretended be. She saw him. When Ward climbed down the ladder, he hadn't expected to see Fitzsimmons again. The two scientists back tracked and he couldn't help, but feel a small bit of pride seeing that they escaped their guards. Ward chased them and was vaguely reminded of the time they had chased him down this way months ago. He forced the memories away. Fitzsimmons locked themselves in one of the "trailers" that held cargo.

Ward looked at them through the window, "Open the door Fitz."

"Ward, please," Fitz said pleading and breathless, "I need to understand."

Simmons snapped, "You need to accept the truth, Fitz! You don't care about us, or anything. You never cared about us…"

"No. I don't believe that," Fitz said, "We're friends, we've risked our lives for each other. We've had laughs together, we've had fights together. I know that you're a good person Ward. You can choose right now to be good. It's a choice."

Ward stared at him blankly for a moment before he replied, "I know. I won't hurt you guys, but I do have orders. Does this thing float?"

"What," Simmons said incredulously.

Fitz frowned, "Why? It should yes, but why?"

"Garrett wants you dead and he needs to think you're dead," Ward said, he looked around to make sure no one was listening, "Are you sure this thing will float? We're over the water now. If it floats, you guys will have enough time to get help and get back to others."

Simmons asked, "Why? You're Hydra, you've been lying to us this whole time why would you help us now?"

Ward sighed, he looked into Simmons eyes and said, "Because… I do care about you two. It's a weakness."

Simmons didn't say anything, she only stared at Ward trying to decide whether or not to believe him. Fitz nodded to Ward, "I knew there was good." "Good luck," Ward told them. He turned away and began to punch in the codes. In a matter of seconds, the trailer was released. Ward watched as Fitzsimmons stared at him before disappearing from view. They would live, it would be okay.

* * *

The four agents entered the barber shop and quickly found the hidden rooms underground. It was dark, the only light coming from the open door where they had come from. Coulson and May had entered first, Coulson had his weapon raised while May had her hands ready for a fight. When the coast was clear, Trip pulled out one of his grandfather's devices that would hopefully help them in their search for a computer system.

So far there was nothing down there except for dust and cobwebs. Skye ran her fingers through her hair gazing off while Coulson, May and Trip continued to look around for a computer for her to connect with. Once they found the system, she could lose herself in the codes and the sound of her fingers flying across the keyboard. It would also bring her closer to finding the man who practically crush her heart.

May glanced at Skye while Trip and Coulson were trying to find the hidden door in the stone walls. The young woman had been quieter and more serious since admitting her feelings about Ward. It was trying time for Skye, but May felt proud at how well Skye was handling everything. The young woman she had met all those months ago would have cracked under all this weight. Now, she was still standing. That was a sign for May that Skye would be okay, that she would be able to move on. Coulson found what he was looking for in the wall. He stepped back and the stone wall moved out to reveal a room with a computer and software. The Hydra symbol on the computer screen.

"Finally," Skye muttered ready to get on the computer. She needed to distraction.

"Here we go," Coulson said.

A second after the words left him, the lights shut off. The four agents turned around to see a figure, a man, holding the staff from Asgard. May recognized it instantly, she remembered all the anger it had brought to the surface along with all the pain she had felt over the years. Coulson and May had their guns raised. The two stood in front, Trip next to them while Skye was behind them. The three agents created a wall around her.

Coulson spoke, "It's a Centipede soldier."

A red dot shined through the dark, but after one dot came another, followed by many more. All Skye could think about when she saw those was Terminator, Deathlok.

Coulson sighed, "I could sure use a little light in here."

"I got it," Trip said activating another of one his grandfather's gadgets.

Trip switched it on, a little white glow formed and he dropped it on the ground. This gave them enough light to see the soldiers before them.

"So who do we talk to about getting a haircut," Coulson asked.

Trip fired his gun at the soldiers, Coulson followed his lead. Skye slipped into the computer room while May, Coulson and Trip fought off the soldiers. Hopefully they could buy her enough to time to activate the Trojan Horse and get out of here in one piece. Adrenaline pulsed through Skye's veins, her fingers raced across the keyboard as she traced down her Trojan horse. A sly grin formed on her face when she locked onto their location.

"Time to go," Coulson yelled.

Skye pulled out the flash drive and rushed out of the room, away from the fighting. May was currently leading all the soldiers around, getting them to help her destroy the pillars. While Coulson and Skye got Trip who had been injured in the fight, May continued her dance.

"Let's go," Coulson said when May destroyed the last pillar.

May climbed up the stairs after the others, leaving piles of stones and rubble behind her.

* * *

Ward was concerned. Ever since Raina had injected Garrett with the miracle drug earlier, he had been acting strange and out of the ordinary. Especially when he started drawing on the glass door with a nail, making circles and lines that didn't really match anything Ward had ever seen. It was wrong. Ward had a feeling whatever was in that drug was messing with Garrett's mind. Not to mention there was no telling if Fitzsimmons were okay. He may have given them a way out, but the question was if they would get out of that box in time.

There wouldn't be enough air to last forever, or food supplies inside. Ward feared that he sent them to their death instead of hiding them on the plane. Maybe it would have been better, but odds are another soldier would have found them and he would have to deal with the consequences. Ward released a sigh. This had turned out to be the craziest week of his life. Ward closed his eyes for a moment, he hoped Fitzsimmons were okay and that Coulson would find them. He hoped Skye was doing okay, but odds are she was having a tough time like him, like Fitz and Simmons.

* * *

Simmons had never given much about about how she would die. It was something she didn't really like to think about, honestly the idea of dying scared her. Where would she go when she passed? Would she be reborn as someone new? Would she go to another place? Falling from the plan in SHIELD pod caused that fear of death to rise up in her again. However when she opened her eyes, she was glad to see Fitz looking at her with a soft gaze. She saw the blood on his face, but no wound in immediate sight.

"Hey," Fitz said, "You looked very peaceful sleeping. Didn't want to wake you, but I'm glad that you're up."

SImmons sat up slowly, "What's happening?"

Simmons looked around to see the items in the pod were in a disarray, packages everywhere and the window on the side. Outside was water, only blue light allowed them to see.

"I've spent the last hour trying to figure out why we sank," Fitz said as Simmons looked out the window, "We're at the bottom of the ocean, in case you missed that bit."

Simmons frowned, these pods could float. She knew they could, that was why Ward dropped them right? Unless he had planned this which she wouldn't have put it past him. After all he lied about so many things, what's stopping him now. Simmons forced the thoughts away and focused on Fitz. His arm was in a sling and she noticed the blood on his face had dried.

"These pods are built to be compatible with all SHIELD aircraft, submarines, spacecraft," Fitz explained, "On impact, the atmospheric adaptation must have tried to compensate. We slowly sank as it increased the density of the outer walls. I measured the rate the water rose on the glass. Did the math we're at least 90 feet down. You can't see the surface."

"How did we survive the fall," Simmons asked even though she had an idea.

"The plane must have been in vertical flight mode, flying low. I managed to strap us to one of the backboards before we hit. And I broke my arm same two places I broke it in second grade which is strange," Fitz answered her, a small smile on his face.

Simmons returned the grin and sighed, "I thought we were dead for sure, Fitz. We're so lucky. Now we just need to figure a way out of here….We'll find a way out of here, right?"

Fitz swallowed, "And then we'd be in the middle of the ocean with the bends and no floatation and no one looking for us." Fitz looked away as he went on, "I already spent an hour trying to rig the wireless signals on the EKG to send out a weak distress call before remembering that it's a SHIELD frequency and no one's listening. And that's not the problem the problem is that there aren't many supplies left in here, - so I've already done the math-"

"Enough with the math," Simmons snapped, her fear rising, "What are you saying?"

"I think you know Jemma," Fitz said sadly.

Simmons whispered, her voice shaking, "We're going to die down here."

* * *

"The Trojan Horse worked," Skye said grinning slightly, "It gave us access to the system we wanted. Our secret weapon. We now have eyes on their operation in the palm of my hand."

"We'll need more than eyes to defeat Garrett," Trip said while May stitched his wound.

Coulson walked in, a look of horror and fear on his face. Something was wrong, really wrong. May sensed it immediately, but the pain in his eyes.

"What is it," May asked, not hiding her concern.

"Fitzsimmons tracker crossed the ocean," Coulson said, "It's in New Mexico."

Skye felt the corners of her mouth twitch, "They tagged the plane?"

"It appears so, but they're not answering," Coulson replied, watching Skye.

Skye took a sharp breath, "No-"

"We can't think about that right now," Coulson told her sternly, "They may have been captured. Either way they risked everything to put a tracker on that plane for us. Now we know exactly where Garrett is, and Skye can see what he's doing…. If Fitz and Simmons are still alive then catching Garrett is our only shot at finding them."

Skye looked to the floor, this couldn't be happening. Not Fitzsimmons, she couldn't lose them. Not after everything they've been through, she couldn't lose them. She wouldn't lose them. Skye bit her lip hard to keep it from shaking, they still had a job to do. She would find Garrett and Fitzsimmons. No one else would be lost today. After twenty minutes of flying, Coulson had plan and everyone was getting ready to suit up. It was now or never.

"We'll only get one shot at this, so let's go over the plan one more time to make sure we're clear on exactly what we're doing," Coulson said as he pulled on his gloves, "Okay Trip and I will crest the ridge, use a noisemaker to grab a three-wheel, maybe something with more fireworks, and open a window for you two. You crawl in, grab the dealer, force his hand. He'll get us our ace in the hole, and then bob's your uncle."

Skye nodded, "Roger that."

"Makes it sound easy," Trip commented as he pulled on a bulletproof vest.

"Coulson," May said handing him a gun, "it's a solid plan you've mapped out, but it hinges on a gamble… a big one."

Coulson nodded, "And backup isn't coming. It'll be just the four of us. We'll be outmanned and outgunned."

Skye strapped her vest on, Trip handed her, her own gun. She cocked it in place and looked from her mother to Coulson. This was a big leap.

"But Fury always said a man can accomplish anything when he realizes he's a part of something bigger. A team of people who share that conviction can change the world," Coulson went on, "So, what do you say? You ready to change the world?"

Trip looked from Coulson, to May and to Skye. Neither Trip nor Skye were sure they had an answer to that question. Luckily May did.

"No," May replied, she clicked her rounds in place, "I'm ready to kick some ass."

Skye smirked and Trip grinned at that.

Coulson shrugged, "That works, too. Let's go."


	43. Chapter 42

**A/N: Yay chapter Update! Just another chapter before season one is over, then an epilogue for this story. Not sure if I should keep the season 2 chapters in this story or make a new one. I'll know by November, but for now, on with the show.**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter 42**

If there was one thing Simmons despised about herself, it was how often she found herself feeling helpless and afraid. Staring out the window of the pod, Simmons was surprised that she didn't feel the usual terror that came whenever she in these life and death situations. Perhaps it was because it was peaceful here or maybe because she had Fitz by her side. He was always there when she needed him.

"Are you scared," she asked softly, her eyes focused on the water outside.

"Yeah," Fitz replied, looking down.

He was sitting across from her now instead of sitting by her side. It was easier for Fitz this way, she would be the last person he ever sees and talks to.

"I'm hungry too," Fitz said, a small attempt to lighten the mood.

Simmons nodded, "Me too. Scared and hungry. What do you think it's like?"

"Death," Fitz questioned, "I guess it depends on the method really. Drowning is supposed to be quite pleasant in the end apparently. Once the water fills up your lungs-"

"I mean after," Simmons interrupted.

Fitz spoke softly, "My mom always said that you shouldn't be afraid it's just the way life was before you were born which wasn't that bad, was it?"

"That's sweet," Simmons said, "Though apparently I was miserable before I was born. Upside down, umbilical cord wrapped around my head."

"She meant preconception-"

"I know, I'm joking."

"Yeah I know you're joking. That's fine."

There was beat of silence before SImmons spoke again, "I like to think about the first law of Thermodynamics. That no energy in the universe is created and…"

"None is destroyed," Fitz finished with a weak smile.

The Scottish scientist tore his eyes away from the pale floor to look at Simmons, the last person he would ever be with until the moment he died. Although death was something he wanted to avoid for as long as possible, he was happy to have her by his side in his final moments. The lights that could seep through the water was white, similar to a moon's glow. It lit up her fair skin and her eyes shined like the stars. Despite what was happening around them, Fitz could still see the hope in her eyes.

"That means that every bit of energy inside us, every particle," Simmons took a breath and looked out the window, "Will go on to be apart of something else. Maybe live as a Dragonfish, a microbe, maybe burn in a supernova 10 billion years from now. And every part of us now was once part of some other thing- a moon, a storm cloud, a mammoth."

"A monkey," Fitz added.

Simmons had to smile, "A monkey. Thousands and thousand of beautiful things that were just as terrified to… to die as we are. We gave them new life, a good one I hope…. It's fitting we're down here together Fitz. This is where all life began on our planet anyway. Just outside that glass."

"Jemma," Fitz said, his voice soft.

Simmons didn't say anything, her eyes focused on the glass.

"The glass," she whispered, "Fitz, the glass."

Fitz frowned, "Yeah… It's bullet proof, pressure resistant."

"But the seal is for 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, surely-"

"yeah I know what you're thinking, but the flash point is too high for it to burn."

"But medical ethanol has a low flashpoint, and it burns-"

"Hotter," Fitz said, realization flickered across his face, "If we could use the defibrillator as an ignition source-"

"And build a compressed explosive,"

"To ignite the seal outside the pressure will,"

"Blow the window in!" Fitz and Simmons stood up from their seats, smiles on their faces and light in their eyes. There was a chance, they had a chance.

* * *

Once Coulson, Trip, May and Skye touched down, they split off into two groups and went ahead with their plan. Although Skye's mind had been distracted by the haunting questions about what happened or could have happened to Fitzsimmons, she knew she had to focus. Letting herself focus on the what if's wouldn't help anyone at this point, especially the two scientists she couldn't bare to lose.

She and May would go straight to the Cybertek facility while Trip and Coulson hung back for the time being. Right now the two of them were waiting for Trip and Coulson to arrive. Currently, Coulson and Trip were perched on one of the hills in the distance with a view of the white walled and blue windowed building.

"Alright, what do we want," Coulson asked looking at Trip, "There's a three-wheel over there."

Trip replied, "Here comes a Humvee that has better fireworks."

"Hold on," Coulson said.

Both former agents brought their binoculars to their eyes to get a better look at the vehicles pulling in on the road below. When Trip laid eyes on those cars, he knew the fire power behind them would be near impossible to match.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about," he said with a faint grin.

"You bring a noisemaker," Coulson asked, his eyes still on the Humvees.

Trip smirked, "Sir, I bring the noise and the funk wherever I go."

Trip pulled out his noisemaker and three over to the Humvees down below. _Hey-ho, the enemy approaches. Careful now, or they'll win the day._ The guards posted reacted instantly and tried to locate where the noise was coming from, their guns raised and prepared for the worst. With the guards distracted, Coulson and Trip moved quickly down the hill and took a guard by surprise.

After that, they were able to take control of one of the Humvees, the one they needed and took off without hesitation. Time was of the essence, it was something they didn't have a lot of. Coulson drove away, knocking everything out of his path either with the launcher that Trip controlled or by simply running everything over. Once they arrived to the meeting place, he had Trip fire another missile. A gaping hole formed in the worn wall where May and Skye were waiting behind.

"Nice work guys," May said through her walkie, "The windows open."

May looked at Skye who had a smirk on her face, "You ready to face this Slick?"

"Born that way."

* * *

Ward was angry, confused, desperate and dare he say afraid. For the past ten, fifteen years he had followed Garrett because he was the one who opened doors for him. The one who helped him find a purpose in life, to be apart of something bigger than himself. Whether that was Hydra or SHIELD, Ward wasn't sure, but he had a reason to exist. He had looked up to Garrett, wanted to help him.

The only problem was Garrett… he was no longer himself. Ever since Raina had given him that drug, he had been slipping further and further away. First the strange drawings on the glass, then his talk of the future and finally, the butchering of a U.S. general. The sight hadn't been the worst thing Ward had ever seen, but it definitely was not what he had been expecting his former mentor to do. No less rip out one of the man's ribs and nearly maim him.

Perhaps it had been mistake to come here, maybe he should have stayed with Skye and waited for the rest of his team to return. His team… He hoped, prayed to whatever god that would listen that the two scientists were okay. Hopefully they had made contact with Coulson or Skye or May. When the alarms came on, Ward knew it had to be the remnants of SHIELD, he really hoped Fitzsimmons were either along with them or hidden away.

Ward stood in the cargo hold of the BUS, watching as Quinn packed up the Gravitonium. Ever since Quinn had shot Skye, Ward had hated the man and that hate never truly went away. The only thing keeping him from attacking the man now was Garrett, but if things went as Ward believed, he may disobey those orders. Raina walked down the metal stairs with a bag ready to go. Ward cut her off.

"You're not going anywhere," Ward all but snarled at her, "You think you can steal the gravitonium?"

Raina was unfazed by his tone, "It was given to us."

"What the hell did you say to Garrett," Ward asked, anger in his eyes.

"I listened," Raina replied simply.

"He's psychotic! Did you notice that," Ward snapped, not bothering to hide his frustration, "I just had to lock up six government officials because he butchered the seventh one… He completely lost it in there."

Raina stared up at Ward, "You're wrong. Garrett's not lost, far from it he's connected now."

Ward scoffed at her words, "Don't tell me you're following him into this madness."

Raina tilted her head to the side slightly, "His talk of evolution, I agree with him. You're the one who follows him, but in this case, you should. For the first time, you both need the same thing, and so do I."

"What are you talking about," Ward asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Skye," Raina answered.

Ward hadn't been expecting that reply. Even though Skye had been on his thoughts, wondering where she was, how she was doing, if she was okay, if she would ever forgive him, but he hadn't expected this. Why would Raina or Garrett need Skye now? It didn't matter though, Ward wouldn't let them have her. His team was off limits.

"Why," Ward asked after a few moments of silence.

"The evolution he speaks of she'll be an important part of that," Raina said in the same pitched voice, "so go get her, Grant Ward."

"For what exactly," Ward asked, not liking where this was going at all.

Raina exhaled as she spoke, "The world is going to change, and when it does, she could be yours."

"Mine," Ward said incredulously, "Why would I want that?"

Raina didn't answer his question, she only went on to say, "It's not hard to see that you have some very strong feelings for her. Perhaps she saw through that hard exterior that is why you care for her so much. Maybe a feeling of possessiveness, protectiveness since you almost lost her."

Ward didn't say anything in response to that, he only stared at Raina. He could deny it all he wanted to, but deep down he knew it was true. Skye saw him for who he was and not for who he was made to be whether.

"You won't touch Skye or any of my team," Ward said in a low tone.

Raina shrugged slightly, " _I_ won't touch them. That's on you Grant Ward. We know about Skye's parents, about the darkness that lies inside her and in her mother. I believe in a world where the true nature of ourselves will reveal itself."

Without another word, Raina walked down the ramp to the car with the gravitonium inside. All Ward could do was watch her go.

* * *

While Coulson and Trip dealt with the problem outside, Skye and May would get on the inside. The two agents swiftly made their way through the facility, their ICER's at the ready and a bomb set as part of their plan. May went first through the white doors that would lead to the dealer, she picked off any stragglers who would get in her way. It was like walking through a park.

Skye walked in after May, she brought the walkie to her mouth.

"Coulson," she said, "We've found the dealer."

Skye brought the walkie down and walked straight down the white tiled floor. Now it was time for the next phase of their plan.

She lifted up the backpack in her hand and began to speak, "This is a bomb. You know what those do. And you've seen agent May here through the eyes of the super soldiers, so you know what she does. You don't want to mess with us, is my point."

May couldn't help, but to smirk at Skye's words. The man behind the main computer at the end of the rows of other computers stared at Skye.

"You're not gonna be able to hijack our soldiers," the auburn haired man said, "We've thought through every emergency scenario, including this one."

May spoke, flipping her bangs out of her face, "Don't tell me you just switched the soldiers to default directive."

"Yeah, I did," replied the auburn haired man, he paused, "And how did you know about that?"

Skye grinned mischievously, "Where would be the fun in telling you our secrets?"

* * *

Garrett was standing on the catwalk in the lab, Deathlok by his side when Ward approached them. He was already troubled by the last few days and in all honesty, could not take another damn thing. Yet here he was, in a compound that had been attacked by the remnants of SHIELD, what remained of his team.

"The compounds been hit," Ward informed them, "Quinn and Raina took off and we need to take action. What are my orders?"

Garrett only smiled at Ward, "That's up to you son."

Ward was about to respond, but the sound of a phone ringing interrupted him. Who could be calling at a time like this?

Garrett looks at Deathlok, "It's your handler, probably to tell me what the soldiers are seeing."

Garrett placed the phone to ear, "Yeah?"

Skye: Hi John, how you been? Just thought I'd call to catch up."

Garrett smirked, he took the phone off his ear and placed it on speaker, "Skye.. You sound different on the phone, huskier."

"Not sure if I should be insulted by that," Skye replied simply, "Curious though, you don't sound good. Worried about me calling from your soldier control center?"

"No No, I'm not too concerned," Garrett said casually, "You see, if anyone but the assigned handler gives a directive to one of my men, well, kaboom."

Skye shrugged on her end of the line, "Ah, darn it, Coulson didn't think of that. You've outsmarted us again."

"Phil's around," Garrett replied with a wide grin, "That's great. We actually have a lot to talk about."

"So it seems you do," Skye said, malice hinting in her voice.

"Oh before I go, I wanted you to know your scientist friends…. they were brave until their last breath," Garrett said before hanging up the phone.

Ward could only stare at Garrett, Skye's voice echoing in his mind. She was here, of course she was here and he knew he shouldn't have been surprised, but he was. Briefly Ward had to wonder if Fitzsimmons made it back. If they had, were the two of them here as well? Not likely, Ward realized they would most likely still be hidden away.

Garrett put the phone in his pocket and spoke to Ward, "Raina told me how special Skye is and I know you've seen that from the start. You want orders? Bring me Skye."

Ward swallowed the bile that rose in his throat, "Yes sir."

Ward leaves the room, his chest tight and mind spinning. This would not be a good confrontation, Ward knew that much.

* * *

The two scientists weren't sure how long they had been working, but they were nearly done with their one hope of freedom. This would be it. Either they make it through another dangerous assignment or they never wake up to see the light again.

"Alright we need to hurry," Fitz said as he turned on the defibrillator, "We have to do this soon. There has to be enough-"

"Oxygen to ignite, yes," Simmons finished calmly.

She set the bottles of alcohol along the sealed glass, only stopping to make sure they wouldn't tip over. Fear gripped her heart as the doubts came rushing in. What if this didn't work? Would they suffocate in this box? Would the glass break and the two of them drown in the salt water? Simmons prayed to whatever god was out there that they could survive.

Fitz nods over Simmons shoulder at her work, "Yeah, okay good."

Simmons stands up to face him, now or never.

"Now when I press this button," Fitz starts, gesturing to their contraption.

"The window will blow in and water will rush inwards," Simmons finished.

Fitz licked his lips, "Yeah which is going to be like getting punched 100 times in the stomach, okay? The winds going to be knocked right of us."

Fitz turned around to grab the oxygen tank, it was a handheld one with a mask attached to it. It was meant for one person and one person alone.

"Now, this is near empty, but I've rigged it to let out a burst of very high pressure should force a breath into your lungs, but you have to hold on to it, okay? Hold on tight," Fitz explained looking into her eyes, "Should be enough to get you up the 90 feet or so."

Simmons frowned, "One breath? But there's two of us."

"Yeah, I've done the math and that's why you're taking it. You're a better swimmer, anyway," Fitz said gently.

"No," Simmons couldn't believe it. "Jemma." "No! I'm not leaving you here."

"Jemma, you have to."

"That's ridiculous, no. We need a new plan."

"We're not discussing it, okay? You're taking it end of story."

"I couldn't live if you hadn't," Simmons said sharply, tears burning her eyes.

Fitz nodded, "Well, I feel the same way."

"There has to be another way," Simmons insisted.

"You're taking it," Fitz said sternly.

"Why," Simmons asked, tears sliding down her cheeks, "Why would you make me do this? You're my best friend in the world! I can't lose you!"

"Yeah, and you're more than that, Jemma," Fitz admitted for the first time in his life.

He stared at her, trying to memorize every feature she had.

"I couldn't find the courage to tell you, so, please let me show you."

Simmons couldn't breathe, it felt as if someone had reached into her chest and ripped her heart out. Her best friend, the man whom she loved more than anyone else in this world planned to sign his death warrant so she could breathe. No, there has to be another way. Simmons didn't know what to do, she didn't know what she could do to change his mind and try to find another solution. There must be something, anything. Simmons pulled Fitz into a tight embrace, not bothering to hold back the sobs that rose in her throat.

"It's okay," Fitz said, rubbing her back.

Simmons shook her head against his shoulder, "No. This is not okay."

"Jemma," Fitz said as he stepped away from her, "we have to hurry."

She shook her head, "No."

"No?"

"No, I won't take it."

"Jemma we don't have time for this."

"I'm not going to leave you here Leo!"

"You have to!"

"I won't."

Fitz released a heavy sigh, he lifted the little oxygen mask, "Take it Jemma… Take it."

Simmons let him place the mask in her hand, in too much pain to really fight him off.

Tears continued to slip down her flushed cheeks, "Please don't leave me, I need you."

Fitz smiled at her, tears filling in his eyes, "I need you to… That's why I have to do this. I love you Jemma."

In a split second, Fitz had put their plan into motion. "Leo, don't-"

The water rushed in, the force of the waves knocking all the air out of their lungs as Fitz had said.

 _Leo!_

* * *

Skye had been feeling pretty good about this operation, but that all changed when she heard the voice of the man who had all, but broken her heart.

"She's not gonna kill you," Ward said entering the room, gun raised, "She had a chance to kill me before and couldn't do it. And she hates me a lot."

Skye inhaled sharply, unsure of what game he was playing.

"You know I feel sorry for you," Skye decided to say, "betraying the only people who gave you a chance at being a decent human being… I actually believed you."

"You should believe it," Ward said, his voice a little softer.

Skye scoffed, "Yeah, only problem is I have no reason to believe a word you say."

"I haven't hurt any of you," Ward countered.

"Tell that to Fitz and Simmons," Skye said, tears burning her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, "Did Garrett kill them? Or was it you following his orders?"

Ward swallowed sharply, "Are you sure they're gone?"

"Don't bull shit this," Skye snapped harshly.

"I'm not, but are you absolutely sure they're gone," Ward said, worry in his eyes and fear in his voice, "You haven't seen them? Heard from them?"

Had he actually killed them? No, he gave them a way out. That pod was supposed to float long enough for them to send a signal and get out of there. He had tried to help them, to keep them alive and protect them.

"How would I when Garrett tells me their likely death," Skye hissed, but her gaze softened.

Hope filled her eyes, was there a chance that Fitzsimmons are alive? Ward licked his lips, he glanced at Zellar then back at Skye. No point in having to hide his intentions, but he still kept his gun raised.

"I locked them in one of the pods on the Bus," Ward said, "Dropped them in the ocean."

Skye raised an eyebrow, wondering what she was supposed to do with that information when it hit her. Sometime ago, she had been walking around the Bus with Fitz looking for something and he had been going on and on about the pods. To Skye they were like smaller cargo holds. She had been in one after getting shot by Quinn. The one thing that stuck out about them was what Fitz had told her.

 _If the ship were ever to crash over a body of water, these pods would float. And if it were to land in crash, the pods would hold strong in the explosion. It's actually really great and…._

There was a chance Fitzsimmons were alive. Skye felt a huge weight lift off her shoulder, her friends were alive. The young woman kept her face as neutral as she could, but even Ward could see the light in her eyes.

May had been watching from the side, hidden from view and listening carefully to this exchange. The older agent kept her eyes focused on Skye for the next few moments. Ward had already playing with Skye enough and this next bit sent a burst of fury through May. Whether Ward was telling the truth or not about Fitzsimmons, she had a feeling this was just another one of his plays to hurt Skye.

Skye felt anger rise in her again. What if this was just another trick? What if he was saying this to get her guard down? Even though she deeply wished that Fitz and Simmons were alive, she needed to focus on Ward right now.

"Probably because Garrett told you to," Skye said darkly, "I liked to think people weren't born evil, but I have proof that, that isn't true."

If her words hurt him, Ward didn't show it, "Yeah, yeah maybe. I've learned some interesting things about you and your mother. It's quite the history."

Skye was slightly unnerved by the change in topic, but she ignored it, "You're not the evil I was referring to… Garrett is evil. You're just weak and do whatever it is you're told. You disgust me. I hope Garrett orders you to walk into traffic."

Ward simply shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think either of us are that lucky."

Ward lowered his gun, he dropped it to the floor and kicked it to Skye. She wasn't exactly sure what his plan was, but she knew this must have been a setup of some kind. What game was he playing, if any at all? Ward closed off some of the distance between the two of them. It was too close for May's comfort and she would have attacked right then, but she was waiting for Skye's cue.

"I'm not here to hurt you Skye," Ward told her, "I promised you I would never let anyone hurt you."

"But you hurt me," Skye whispered lowly.

Ward nodded regretfully, "I know and I wish I could take it back. I know you have no reason to believe me, but I'm telling you the truth. I put Fitzsimmons in that pod to give them a chance of escape, I came here to warn you, to help in whatever way I can."

"Liar," Skye said shaking her head, "Just more lies."

"No, I mean it," Ward replied, his eyes burning into her.

Skye didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry and forced herself to swallow her tears. It was so hard and so confusing for Skye. She just didn't know what to do. Could it be possible that he was telling the truth? Did he really try to save Fitzsimmons behind Garrett's back? Was he on her side after all? Skye didn't know the answer to any of these questions, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.

She still had a mission to finish.

It was time for her to call in some back up, "You know, bombs seem to keep popping up," Skye said simply, "We set them up everywhere, you set one up, I have this one, but you know what? I have a weapon much better than a bomb for you."

"Is that so," Ward questioned curious.

Skye nodded, "Yes and she's really pissed off."

Not second too late, May had punched Ward with everything she had.


	44. Chapter 4344

**A/N: Originally I planned to have this be two chapters, but then I decided why not just give them both now because you guys all waited so long! So seven thousand plus words later and here we are, yes seven thousand words. Longest chapter I have ever written for this story, hope it's worth the wait. Now that season one has come to a close, season two is in the works. However I still don't know if I should start a new story for that or if I should continue to post on NLG. I'm leaning on just posting it here and altering the summary a bit, but I want to know your thoughts.**

 **Leave a comment or PM**

 **Summary: Melinda Qiaolian May has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. for most of her life, but all the training in the world could have never prepared her for the challenge she was facing. She had to let go, but when she looked into those soft nut brown eyes, she knew in that moment she would never let go.**

 **Excuse any misspellings and grammar mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of the characters used.**

* * *

 **Chapter 43/44**

May was never the type to let her anger any emotion really, get the best of her. Yet as she forced Ward out of the main room, she let her anger out with every punch and kick. When she thought of Ward, she thought of her daughters red rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks. May hadn't been there to protect her the first time around, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to do everything in her power to show her daughter that she was here now.

To show her, that she was on her side and wasn't going anywhere. When Ward and May disappeared from Skye's sight, she collected herself and went back to the task at time. Her mother could deal with Ward. She almost, almost, pitied him because she knew May was not going to hold anything back when it came to him. The thought made Skye smile inside.

 _This is what it's like to have someone fight for you._

No one ever fought for Skye before, the idea was foreign to her, but it was welcomed. However she had to push the thoughts from her mind, now it was time to deal with the situation at hand. She could thank her mother later for this, right now she had to focus.

She turned back to the desk man and grabbed his collar, "Let's talk about Incentives."

The man stood uneasily, "What?"

Skye had a plan, and she was going to need this guy to help her see it through. This would be her only chance to get to Mike.

* * *

May slammed Ward onto the concrete floor with all she had, letting all the anger she felt towards him come to the surface. She was on top of him own and she was able to punch three times in the face before he flipped her over him. The impact forced the air from her lungs and gave Ward an opportunity to move, but she was fast.

Emotion was a good asset to have, especially when that emotion happened to be a pissed off mother. May slid away from him and grabbed a power saw, quickly turning it on. Ward hadn't jumped to attack her, but he was ready with a bar of wood in his hands.

"May, I don't want to fight you," he said to her, his eyes focusing on the power saw.

He had seen May fight before, she wasn't one to shed blood, but right now he had a feeling she would make an exception. The senior agent glared him, fire in her brown eyes.

"Too bad," she hissed and charged with the power saw.

He held up the wood in defense until the saw went through it. Although he didn't want to hurt her, he knew he couldn't stay on defense the whole time. He ducked down and grabbed her arms, wrestling for control over the tool. His eyes landed on the chord, he forced May to move forward and grabbed the wire while her back was to him. In a moment's time he got the wire around her throat.

"May stop," he pleaded, "Let me explain!"

"There's nothing for you to explain," May half growled half hissed back at him.

May pulled down hard and fast then flipped him over her back through the wall. The air was forced of his lungs as he passed through the thin walls and fell through a table. He knew the bruises would definitely come to him before the nightfall, if he could even survive through the day. May was about slam down onto him, but he rolled out of the way. In order not to slam hard onto the floor, she directed her momentum to the side and rolled.

She was on all fours then, hair in her face. Ward had scooted away, looking for something to defend himself in case of another attack that he knew was to come. May grabbed the first thing she could get her hands, it happened to be a metal pipe which made her happy. It could do some damage and that was her goal. May attacked him, slammed him into the wall. Before he had a chance to recover she used the pipe to her advantage to make sure he stayed down long enough for her to stay on top.

When he tried to stand, she kicked his knee to force him down again. He charged forward, in way she hadn't expected. His arms around her midsection, her forced her upwards and onto the table with the saw. He wouldn't bring her near it though, he only needed her to stop attacking long enough for him to get some words out.

"May listen to me, I don't want to hurt you, any of you," he said to her, struggling to keep her down.

May snarled, "Tell that to Jemma and Leo."

May brought the metal pipe to the saw and it bounced back onto him, hitting his face. Not only had the pipe caused him to pause, but the first names of the two scientists. He had tried to protect them, he gave them a way out a chance to survive. Or had he only sent them to their deaths like Garrett had wanted him to do in the first place. While he was momentarily stunned, May got the upper hand once again.

She flipped him over and down onto the ground again. He shoved her off him and she jumped up slowing them a standing match of only fists and feet. Ward had more strength, but May was faster. However he got one good punch to her jaw forcing her head to snap the other direction. Ward used this to his advantage. With his strength he held her for a moment from the shoulders before slamming her through the wall. She landed roughly on the floor, she was about to get up, but he forced her down again.

"Listen to me," he half shouted, "I was trying to help Fitzsimmons! Garrett told me to kill them, but I couldn't do it, I gave them a chance to get out. I told Skye the truth so I could make this right, to change things."

"You can't change things," she hissed. She saw a screw gun on her right and grabbed it. His foot was in sight, that was all she needed to know before using the screw gun on him. He howled in pain and surprise as the bolts went through his foot and into the floor. He was left kneeling there. May punched him, hard.

"Wait May," he tried one last time.

She slammed her fist onto his throat, making him gag and bring his hands up.

"You _killed_ Jemma and Leo," May growled, "You broke my daughter's heart. You hurt them."

"I never wanted to do that," Ward rasped out, still holding his throat, "I-I tried to get Jemma and Leo o-out through the p-pods. I thought I c-could save them."

May stared down at him, she wanted to deliver the final blow, but something held her back. Maybe it was his groveling or the memories she had of him. Whatever it was, she couldn't be sure. Yet she continued to listen to him, despite the voice in her head telling her to knock him down.

"I thought I could protect them," he forced the words out in a whispered voice, "I care about them. Jemma, Leo, Coulson, you…. Skye."

"Don't say her name," May barked, "Don't say any of their names."

"I love them, all of them," he choked out, his eyes desperate.

May liked to think she was good at telling when people were lying. None of her warnings of a liar went off. Despite this, she spun around and kicked him in the face. He went down, without another word.

* * *

 _Hey-ho, friends! The enemy approaches._

Trips speakers were still in play, honestly it brought a tiny smirk to Coulson's face.

"Check the perimeter," Garrett ordered Deathlok.

 _Careful, now, or they'll win the day._

Coulson walked up behind him, "Hi, John."

When Garrett turned around, Coulson punched him in the face. It honestly made the agent feel much better. Letting out that anger, even for a brief moment.

"Hi, Phil," Garrett said with a twisted smile.

He punched Coulson in the stomach and the agent went flying to the stairs. He landed roughly behind a metal cylinder and on the little metal gate of the floor, the wind knocked out of him. The last time he faced Garrett, the man hadn't been that strong.

"Well, that's new," he struggled to say.

He moved himself forward when he saw a black shoe in front of him. When he lifted his head, he wasn't really surprised to find that it was Nick Fury in the flesh. Some relief washed over Coulson, his mentor and friend was alive, just as he thought. This filled him with joy. Fury was clad in black pants and a leather jacket and a maroonish shirt. Instead of his usually eye-patch, he only had a pair of sunglasses.

"Sir," he said.

"You don't have to call me "sir," Coulson," Fury replied, "look at me. I'm dressed like I live under a bridge."

"What are you doing here," Coulson asked him.

"Well, Simmons turned me onto that old-timey tracker Fitz left on your bus," Fury said, he paused at the bullets ricocheting from the metal cylinders, "I went to great pains to make sure you didn't die the first time."

"Well," Coulson replied getting up into his feet, "now's probably not the best time, but… I'd like to have a lengthy conversation with you about that. It might get loud."

Fury nodded in understanding, "And I owe you that. But right now, we owe Garrett a punch in the teeth, wouldn't you say?"

Coulson couldn't have agreed more. Fury took something from behind him, a weapon he knew well and would never forget.

"This packs a pretty good punch," Fury smirked as the weapon pulsed.

Coulson took it from Fury, a grin on his face, "I know what it does."

Coulson went out into the open after that. He fired on every super soldier that dared to step forward. All of them did giving Coulson more opportunities to use the weapon. However once all the soldiers were down, the weapon had died in his hands which was not a good sign. Fury came out then, his gun raised. The only one left standing was Garrett and Fury intended to take him out.

Unfortunately, after he fired all of his bullets, Garrett stood up. He stood as if he hadn't been shot with several bullets, even though there was blood on his teeth. Yet the smile he wore was still pleased.

"Fury," Garrett said, "Well, hell... when was the last time anyone saw a tag-team wrestling match with four dead guys?"

Coulson spoke next, "I only see one dead guy in here."

"Oh, the power's all on this side of the room, fellas," Garrett responded, a crazed look in his eyes, "Phil, I'm surprised you'd try and stop me. Of course, I don't blame _you_ , Nick. You haven't seen the big picture, the big bang, the timeless frozen ocean, but Phil here has….We share a bond. We're blood brothers."

Fury only stared, "You didn't tell me he'd gone this crazy."

Coulson tilted his head slightly, "He's really stepped it up a notch."

* * *

Skye walked with the desk man through some hallways, they would lead her to the one person who could help.

With her gun pointed on the second man she had caught, she said to the desk man, "We are running out of time. Tell the man what they have on you."

The second man relented and Skye took his keys into her hands. Once she had those, she knocked him out onto the floor. She felt a little guilty for that, but quickly brushed the feeling aside. Her gun still raised at the desk man, she opened a door. Inside was a woman.

"Kyle," she said, looking at the desk man.

Skye acknowledged the name and would try to remember it later.

"Oh, baby" Kyle said and hugged the woman, "I'm so sorry, what they did to you."

Skye moved away from them, although happy to save someone she needed to find someone else. Kyle noticed her absence and went out into the hall. He spotted her trying to open various doors, he had to ask.

"What are you looking for," he questioned.

"Our ace in the hole," Skye said as she opened a third door.

Inside was just the person she wanted to see.

"Skye," the little boy, Ace, said with a smile.

Skye bent down and hugged him tight. As far as she could tell, he was uninjured which put her at ease. Skye moved back to Kyle.

"No, come on, please, I," he started but stopped when he saw what she took out, a Hulk action figure, "Aww, man."

Skye handed it to Ace, "Hey. Okay, Ace, I need you to give me a message, okay? Something your father would know could only come from you. I need to prove I have you."

"It won't matter," Kyle protested, "I've already told you...there's no way to communicate with Deathlok from in here."

Skye pulled out her phone with a smirk, "I don't need to. I've been communicating with him the whole time."

* * *

Garrett was on a roll it seemed, rambling on about this stuff. Deathlok could really care less about the entire thing, but he has to do this in order to keep his son alive. So he focused on the conversation between the three men, not willing to do anything against Garrett.

"You remember that speech you used to give us, Nick, about how one man can accomplish anything once he realizes he can be something bigger," Garrett explained still smiling, "Well, now I am."

"A _part_ ... "a part" of something bigger," Fury emphasized, slightly annoyed.

"Is that how it went," Garrett questioned, he looked confused.

"Not a great listener," Coulson commented.

"If you tell me this whole Hydra path thing you took is because you misheard my damn "one man" speech…" Fury started with a slight groan, but was cut off.

"I am the key to the future of the universe, I'm the origin of all things," Garrett stated, his eyes were still crazed and unsettling.

"You got it, right," Fury asked looking at Coulson.

The agent nodded, "Totally. Loud and clear."

Garrett released a silent sigh. He pointed at Deathlok then at Fury and Coulson. The quiet order was loud and clear. Deathlok raised his arm. He didn't want to hurt Coulson, but he son was more important than these two men. Coulson knew he had to buy Skye a little more time.

"Fury was teaching us something you didn't want to hear, John," Coulson told him, "cause you only think about yourself. That's the difference between your side and our side and why we're always gonna win."

Garrett frowned, "What lesson, Phil? Please, enlighten me."

Deathlok watched the exchange curiously when he heard beeping in his mind. Then the message came alive on the screen filling his heart. Ace. His son was okay. His son was safe.

 **Dad, what are we? We're a team.**

Deathlok was gone and Mike had one goal. Get rid of John Garrett. He pointed his arm at him and fired, anger coursing through his veins. Garrett was thrown back into the wall, he fell harshly. This was not going as he had planned. Mike marched towards him, fiery anger in his eyes. Garretts skin burned and peeled, he was not going to get out this.

"You can't do this, Mike. I order you to stand down! You must obey me," he cried out, "You need me to translate the words of creation. You don't want to do this, Mike. Tell him, Phil!"

Coulson answered, "Mr. Peterson's free to do whatever he wants."

Mike slammed his foot on Garrett's head, finally putting out the man who had kept him from his son all this time. Mike wanted to feel better, but he only felt hollow. The only way he would feel at peace was to see his son safe and out of harm's way. F

ury questioned, "You think he learned his lesson?"

"He learned something," Coulson commented.

Thanks to reinforcements Fury brought, the super soldiers were rounded up and would escorted away. Coulson was standing in the same area that Garrett had been killed in. Though part of him was upset about his former friend's death, he decided not to dwell on those emotions. He missed the man before this happened. The one in his memories was truly gone long before the light left his eyes.

May walked around the corner, she didn't look to banged up. He took into account the bruise on the left side of her forehead and the bruises beginning to form on her cheeks. He also noticed that there was no limp and she wasn't holding either arm, it made him happy to know she was mostly unharmed.

"Saw Fury," May said with a nod.

Coulson sighed, "Yeah. I'll end up seeing him later. You see Skye?"

May shook her head, "No. We spoke over comms, but I've been directing agents and she's been dealing with the "captives" here. Then she told me she was with Ace. I think she intends to get Mike."

"Yeah, I asked her to bring him in," Coulson explained, "However if she doesn't, I can understand why."

May nodded solemnly at that.

* * *

Skye told Ace to wait inside for a moment while she went outside to see his dad. He was hit really hard by Hydra and she felt she needed to speak with him. After everything that they had been through, part of her felt responsible for what happened. She found him outside the facility, getting ready to leave, to disappear.

"Mike," she called and he stopped, "Going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Mike turned around to look at Skye sadly. He looked so wounded and broken, it broke Skye's heart more than she expected. So much had happened in the past few days, yet it had felt like years had gone by. To think that all this started because she had filmed him in a crowded street. They had come a long from a homeless hacker and an unemployed father. She didn't feel the same anymore. As if part of her was gone and something new had taken its place. Looking at Mike, she knew he probably felt the same.

"I'm so sorry Skye," Mike apologized hoarsely, "for everything."

Skye smiled at him, "It's okay. Really."

Mike shook his head, "No. It's not."

Mike began to walk away, his intention to leave this place behind and make amends for everything he had done.

"What about Ace? He's still inside, why don't you go to him?"

Mike slumped, the shame weighing down on him like bricks. How could he face his son after this? How could he look down at the little boy knowing that he put Ace in danger? That this had all happened because of him.

A bit reluctant, her turned around to look at Skye, "I don't want him to see what I've become."

Skye frowned, "He won't care about your burns."

"That's not what I mean," Mike replied grimly.

"Ace still needs to see you," Skye protested, "I know what it's like to have a parent walk away, even if it's for the best. It still hurts."

"I-I can't face him," Mike struggled to say.

Skye closed the space between them and rested a hand on his shoulder, "It's going to be okay Mike. Whatever you did, you did it for Ace."

"And what I do, will be for him to," Mike told her honestly, "You can access my hardware and watch my every move. Go ahead. I'll only be making amends for my actions."

Mike was about to step away, but Skye pressed down harder on his shoulder. She couldn't let him leave yet, he had to stay long enough for Ace to run out. Luckily, the young boy had come outside.

"Daddy," Ace shouted happily.

Mike brought his gaze away from Skye to look at the little boy, his Ace, run out of the building and over to him. Ace ran into him, wrapping his arms around his dad so happy to have him back. Mike hesitated in returning the embrace, but he still hugged his son and took pleasure at having his boy so close to him again.

"I'm so sorry Ace," Mike whispered, "I'm so happy to see you."

"Me too," Ace said, tears in his little eyes.

He looked up at his dad with so much love and awe that it stunned Mike. His scars were ugly and he was covered in metal, yet his son didn't seem to notice that. Ace then looked at his dad's stomach, at the metal that was there. He pressed his tiny hand on it curiously.

"It's metal," he stated.

"Ace," Mike choked out.

Ace looked up at his dad and smiled, "You have a suit like Iron Man. Now we can be a super team."

Mike held back a sob as he smiled and hugged his son once again, "We are team Ace. Always will be."

Skye smiled sweetly at the sight and she suddenly felt an urge to go find her mother and just hug her. It was still strange to think she had a mother, but she loved every moment of it. When she had spoken to her Mom over the comms, she knew she was mostly fine. However she still needed to see it with her own eyes. Skye walked away from Mike and Ace to go inside the faculty and deal with anything else.

Though Coulson wanted her to bring Mike in, she decided to leave the man be. If anything did occur, she could access his eye and see where he was. Right now, she had to focus on their matters. Her thoughts went to Fitz and Simmons. She had briefly spoken to Simmons over the phone and a lot of what she said lingered in Skye's mind.

 _Fitz may never be the same… he was without oxygen for so long… Ward said he was trying to give us-us a c-chance but I don't know…. I don't know_.

Simmons sounded so lost and broken over the phone. All Skye wanted to do was hug her and tell her everything would be okay, but she couldn't do that yet. Not when there was still work to be done here. Skye walked past agents, deeper into the faculty when she spotted Ward. He was standing off to the side, hands bound behind his back, from what she could tell he was bound to the wall as well, and bruises covering his face. That was her mom's handy work.

The thought made her want to grin, but she was too upset to think about smiling. Against her better judgement, she walked over to him needing to confront him one last time. He would be locked away, that alone gave her some pleasure. Yet, it also pained her.

Ward spotted her instantly, she was headed over to him. He held her gaze as she walked, her steps a mix between hesitant and purposeful. She had stopped to speak to the agents along the trek, but she continued over to him just the same. Whatever was going to happen next, he prayed it would be okay. Skye stood in front of him, despite the mask she wore, he could see the hurt in her eyes.

He couldn't talk well, May had damaged his throat bad enough for him that it pained him when he tried to speak. Skye hadn't asked for details about the fight when she spoke to her Mom, her focus had been on other things and she didn't want to talk about Ward. Yet here she was.

"Simmons said you tried to give them a chance," Skye started off.

Ward nodded his head, he forced the words out, "I couldn't kill them. I couldn't hurt them anymore."

"Fitz nearly died," Skye told him harshly.

"I wanted to get them out," Ward choked out, eyes pleading, "I care about them. I care about you."

Skye felt her mask begin to crack at that. She looked away from him, trying to regain what little control over her emotions she actually had. His words from before came rushing back to her. Had he meant it when he said he cared about them? Had he meant it when he said he loved her?

Skye wasn't sure, but she wanted to believe him despite it all. She wanted to believe he was telling the truth, to believe that he had decided to help them because he cared. Yet it was so hard and she was too upset to think of the possibility that he might be telling the truth. The hurt was too deep. It would take time for that wound to heal. She looked back at him.

"I want to believe you," Skye whispered sadly, "But I can't…. You hurt us."

"I never wanted that," Ward whispered, his eyes burning into her own.

"You hurt me," Skye said, her eyes shimmering.

"I didn't want that either," Ward whispered, "I'm so sorry Skye…. I hurt all-all of you and I will… I will regret it, forever… but I will make this right."

Skye frowned, "How?"

"By proving to the others that I care," he told her, his voice strained, "by doing e-everything in my power to show you that I do care about them… that I love you…"

Skye inhaled, "I-I-"

"It's a lot to ask, but please…" Ward pleaded, desperation in his strained voice, "please believe me when I say that I do care about you…. I never had anything to fight for until this team… I will fight for all of you. I'll help you and the others in whatever ways I can… I promise you, I will make this right."

Skye didn't know what to say that, so she didn't say anything. Instead she stared into his eyes, searching for something. People always said the eyes were the windows to the soul. She wondered if that were true and now, as she looked, she could only see a broken man. Could she give him another chance? Could she believe in what he was telling her? Or was it only more lies.

Without another word, Skye walked away from him. Ward watched her go with sorrow in his heart and a goal in mind. Where he would go, he wasn't sure, but he would help in any way he could. Whatever they wanted, he would tell. He was going to right his wrongs, one way or another. The agents brought Ward with the other soldiers, lined them up single file.

May had come down then, helping with the escort. Ward briefly wondered if she had seen Skye yet, but he wouldn't dare ask. Besides, after his talk with Skye he felt as if it would pain him too much to say anything else. May had been looking for Skye, but hadn't been able to find her. Instead she came back down here to help get the soldiers and other agents out of here.

When she spotted Ward, she sent him her coldest glare. He held her gaze for a moment before looking away. She unhooked him from the bar without a word. She shoved him forward into the line with the others and they walked, he limped.

The large group arrived to the main area, where Coulson had taken on Garrett along with Fury and Mike. When the agent spotted her and Ward, May stopped walking with another agent who had Ward. Coulson had a lot of pent up anger about Ward. However he wouldn't go after Ward physically, at least not yet.

He asked May, "You got a chance to express all your feelings?"

"Is he still breathing," she asked in reply and moved to Coulson's side.

Coulson turned to Ward, "Guess she kept some of it to herself."

When Ward didn't say anything, May said, "He's having trouble speaking. I think I fractured his larynx."

Coulson almost chuckled, "Oh, good."

His smile faded and his gaze turned steely as he stood before Ward, "Your attempt to cross off Fitz and Simmons failed. You nearly killed them and Fitz may never be the same again…. So I'm going to invent new ways to ruin the rest of your life. And we'll do whatever's necessary to get Hydra intel from you, but your torture ... that's gonna be internal."

"And a little bit external," May commented.

"Sure. Some of that," Coulson added, "But you devoted your entire life to a deranged narcissist who never gave a damn about anyone, and now he's dead. You've got the rest of your life to wrestle with the question ... who are you without him?"

Ward didn't answer, not that he really had one if he could have spoken. However he had an idea about who he wanted to be and what he wanted to do. Once he was out of prison, and he would find a way out, he was going to right his wrongs. How, he wasn't entirely sure, but he would have time to think of new ways to. He would show them the truth, for once he planned to be honest.

Throughout the duration of this talk, he never let his gaze waver from the two agents. However when Coulson stopped speaking, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, behind Coulson. He looked past Coulson to find Skye standing away, leaning against the silver cylinder on the small platform. Her hair was tied into a low ponytail, her arms were wrapped around her stomach, but what stood out were her eyes. The spark was still there, but Ward could see the pain in them. Coulson and May noticed Ward's gaze move away from them.

Both of them looked back to find Skye standing there. May had learned over these past months to read Skye like a billboard, it was now as easy as breathing. One breath, one glance, told May everything she needed to know. From Skye's expression to her stance, May could tell she was in pain and conflicted. As if she were unsure where she stood at the moment and May didn't blame her. During her fight with Ward, she had, had, the same thoughts.

Skye looked away from Ward first, but his gaze lingered on her as he was taken away. Coulson wanted to go over to Skye, but he knew May hadn't seen her yet and decided it was best that they have a moment to themselves. He started moving people out of the room, to give the mother daughter duo a minute alone. May made a note to thank him for that later.

May walked over to Skye and instantly the two of them were hugging. Skye buried her face into May's shoulder, releasing a shuddering breath. It had been a terribly long day and she just wanted it to end. She just wanted to get away from this, all of this for a little while. She knew that she couldn't though. Not with everything still in the chaos. However for the moment, she would enjoy being in her mother's arms.

It felt really nice to be there in this embrace. May held onto Skye tightly, afraid that if she loosened her grip even a little that the girl would vanish. After everything that had happened to them, May couldn't afford to lose her daughter again. Skye was the most important person in her life. Skye released May first who followed the action.

"How are you holding up," May asked looking over Skye.

Skye offered a weak smile, "I feel like shit to be honest, but not terrible. You?"

"I'm doing alright," May said and it was true. May rested her hands on Skye's shoulders and looked into her eyes, "We are going to talk later though. Once this has settled."

Skye nodded with shimmering brown eyes, "Yeah…. Mom?"

May's heart fluttered every time she heard that name, "Yes?"

"I love you," Skye said, still holding May's gaze.

May smiled at her, "I love you too. More than anything in this world, or any world."

May pressed her lips to Skye's forehead, who smiled at the gesture. At first, she had been distant when it came to affection, but that hadn't lasted long. Mostly because the small girl in her, who still needed a mother, wanted the affection. She wanted the gestures of love and all of that there because she had been denied that for too long. May put an arm around Skye's shoulders who in return wrapped one around May's waist. Even though Skye was normally taller than her mother, the two of them were at equal height now. May hated heels, but the shoes she was wearing did give her an inch or two.

"Let's get out of here," May said.

Skye leaned slightly on her mother, "After you."

* * *

Everything had been packed up and set to go. The soldiers would be carted off, while Coulson along with Skye and May would be sent to another base where Fitz was being h treated and Simmons was waiting. There had only been a few short hours of night, but none of them really got any sleep. Too much stuff had still been left to deal with. The Bus had taken off with May, Fury, Coulson, Trip and Skye onboard headed to Fitzsimmons.

Around three in the morning, Skye had passed out in the common area of the Bus. Coulson had found her there, laying haphazardly on the couch. Part of him thought about putting a blanket on her, but he decided against it. Instead, he bent down and carried her to her bunk. She didn't stir, only slept on which he was grateful for. At least she could get some sleep, she definitely needed it.

Coulson hadn't been able to sleep, neither could May really. She had spent a majority of her night watching over Skye. May had left Skye who had just gotten out of the shower, when Coulson had gone up to speak with Fury. She joined him a moment later, right when the conversation started. He was dressed in a new suit and there was no blood on him. After a shower this morning, he looked fresh.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, and cruel, and very stupid," Coulson sputtered.

Fury raised a hand, "I think you've made your point."

"Why bring me back in the first place," Coulson asked incredulous, "Clearly, I didn't think it was the best idea. I warned you about people losing their minds."

"Agent May was on top of the situation. She says you're fine. Aren't you," Fury pointed out.

Coulson released a heavy sigh, "I'm still angry about the cloak and dagger, but…. but I do have to say thank you."

Fury raised an eyebrow, he hadn't expected that response.

Coulson went on, "If you hadn't done it, then this team wouldn't have been assembled, May wouldn't have found Daisy, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to have a new family… So thank you for that- for that chance."

Fury acknowledged him, "I'm damn glad I did it. You know how few people I trust-"

"You can count them on one hand," Coulson added.

"And I'm not afraid to cut off fingers," Fury said simply, "The principle S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded upon was pure."

May said, "Protection."

Fury nodded, "Protection...one word. Sometimes, to protect one man against himself...other times, to protect the planet against an alien invasion from another universe. It's a broad job description. No need to tell me. But the belief that drives us all is the same, whether it's one man or all mankind. That they're worth saving. That truth lives inside you, Coulson. Before it was torn apart, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a lot of moving parts. Guys like you were the heart. Now... you'll be the head."

Fury pulled out a small box. It wasn't even the size of his palm, it was barely a size bigger than those black boxes that held rings.

Coulson took it from him anyway, "What is it?"

Fury answered him, "A toolbox to help you build it back up."

Coulson felt his heart stop, "You want me to start over, rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D…"

"From scratch," Fury answered, "Take your time and do it right." Fury glanced at May, "You'll still have his back."

She nodded, "Of course."

Fury turned to look back at Coulson, "There's no one else I trust with this."

"Thank you, sir," Coulson responded, in awe and surprise, "How do you...how should I proceed?"

Fury flashed him a grin, "That's up to you... Director."

Fury extended his hand to Coulson, who shook it in response. This was a big deal for both of them. Being the head of SHIELD would mean a lot of hard work and a lot of rough days, but Coulson was ready. Fury knew he was, even if Coulson didn't. Besides, there was no one better for the job. Fury walked away from Coulson, but was stopped at the door.

"And you, sir," May asked, "where are you heading now?"

"Well, I'm trading in my bird's-eye view for two solid feet on the ground," Fury answered, "This is the last time you'll be seeing me for a stretch."

"You're gonna disappear, nowhere to be found," Coulson stated, but it rang like a question.

"Nowhere? You know me better than that, Phil. I'll be everywhere," Fury said, lowering his sunglasses to look at Coulson before setting them back in place.

Fury looked at May, "However before I go, I do want to see Skye. Been a long time since I'd last seen that girl."

May couldn't help, but to grin, "It definitely has been. Wait here."

May left Fury and Coulson to themselves while she went to get Skye. Skye had been drifting in and out of sleep most of the night and early morning. However what sleep she did get was welcomed. Her brown hair was wet and in a tangled ponytail that draped over her shoulder. Once her hair was dry, she quickly changed into a blue long sleeve shirt that looked like denim, but was flannel material. Along with that, she wore jeans and black shoes. A knock filled the silence of her bunk.

"Yes," Skye called.

"It's me," May said, "Can I come in?"

Skye opened her bunk door, "Hey."

"I want you to come upstairs with me," May explained, "There's someone who wants to see you."

Skye scrunched her brow, but nodded, "Alright."

A little confused, Skye followed her mom up to Coulson's office. Part of the young woman wondered if Coulson wanted to speak with her about something, but he would have come to her himself. Skye walked into the office after May to see Coulson in a fresh suit and the man from earlier. She hadn't spoken to him, but she had watched him talk with Coulson for a moment before he disappeared from sight.

However now as she got a better look at the stranger, she recognized him as the Director of SHIELD, Nick Fury. Skye blanched as she straightened her shoulders.

"Director Fury," she greeted with a nod, "I've heard a lot about you."

To her surprise he laughed, "Decent things I hope and please, call me Nick."

Skye raised an eyebrow, then glanced at her mom.

May grinned, "Skye, meet your godfather."

Skye snapped her head to look at Fury, her mouth agape. She vaguely remembered talking to her mom months ago about Fury being there when she was born. It had slipped her mind that this man before her, the Head of SHIELD and a legend was her godfather.

"Hi," Skye stuttered out, still surprised, "Wow. Uh, it's nice to officially meet you Dir- I mean Nick. Okay, uh wow. Um, hi again. So I'm Skye, what do I call you?"

Fury chuckled at her nervousness, "Call me Uncle Nick."

"Okay, hi Uncle Nick," Skye said still grinning.

"It is nice to see you again," Fury told her still smiling, "I wanted to see you before I left and give you this."

Fury reached into his pocket and pulled out another black box. Only this one looked like it held jewelry. Skye gingerly took the small box from him. She opened it to find a silver bracelet with the SHIELD logo. At the bottom of the logo, Skye could make out the small engraving that said, with love, Uncle Nick. Carefully, she lifted the bracelet.

"In case of emergencies," Fury said causing Skye to look up at him, "May I?"

Skye gave him the bracelet and held out her arm. Unlike the last SHIELD bracelet she wore, she was pleased to feel the cool metal on her bare wrist. For a few moments she stared at the silver SHIELD pendant against her olive skin with a small smile. The symbol of the family she always had and one she hoped to never lose.

"You ever need anything," Fury explained, "press that pendant and I'll be there. Don't hesitate."

Skye smiled at him softly, "Thank you."

Fury nodded, "Anything for you. I'll be seeing you Skye."

"Goodbye Dir- Uncle," Skye paused, "Goodbye Uncle Nick."

He smiled at her. Without another word, Fury walked out of the office leaving Skye with May and Coulson.

Skye looked back at them, "He's interesting."

Coulson scoffed, "You don't even know the half of it. When do we touch down?"

May checked her watch, "Not for another hour."

The hour passed sooner than they expected. Once the plane touched down, May headed down to the cargo hold where she found Coulson, Skye and Trip were standing. They were all anxious to get off the plane and get inside, especially to see how Simmons and Fitz were doing. May came up next to Skye as the ramp began to lower, Simmons stood there with a weak smile.

Her skin was paler than normal, she had some bruising on her right temple and on the left side of her face. Skye wasted no time, she went Simmons and wrapped her around the scientist, who returned the hug. Coulson, May and Trip went over the two women. Coulson rested a hand on Simmons' shoulder, to offer whatever comfort he could. May stood close to them, silent support was her strong suit. Simmons smiled at them, it was really nice and a relief to see them all again.

Skye released her, "Fitz...is he okay? Please tell me he's okay."

Simmons blinked back the tears, "He's alive."

It didn't mean he was okay, but it did mean that he had chance. That was all any of them could really ask for now.

"What is this place," May decided to ask, changing the topic.

Coulson answered, "Fury told me to come here. Another secret base is my guess."

"I call it the Playground, although, technically, it doesn't have a name because, technically, it doesn't exist, it being a secret base and all," a man who looked exactly like Eric said.

Eric Koenig had died at Providence, that much May knew, but after Billy, the look alike, explained May began to understand. As he was talking, she felt vibrations in her back pocket. Curious, she pulled out discreetly to see who had sent her message. She assumed it might have been her mother, but when she looked down at the picture and message, she realized exactly who it was. It was a picture.

It was recent, during a supply run Skye and May had been the ones to get the items on everyone's list. It had been a few weeks ago, they were walking together. May stared at the image for a long time before a message followed.

 _I know where you are and I am coming, xo_


	45. Season Two Announcement

Alright guys, no this isn't a chapter update sadly, but just an update. So as I stated in the last chapter I will definitely be doing a sequel, or really a season two, of this story and I will post it on here. Within the next two weeks I will alter the summary of this story and update the first chapter to let any newcomers know that there is another story at the end of this along with a brief summary, nothing that will be spoilers, but just so people know. Anyway, season two will start being posted by January fifteen. I'm hoping for sooner, but that will be the latest date, promise. There is a title for season two that will show up in the chapters bar, what that title is you ask? Can't say, you'll see when I post it.

I also wanted to thank each and every one of you for following, favoriting and reviewing this story. Honestly this story wouldn't have existed without the first few reviewers and a little nudge from a friend. All of you are amazing and cannot express how much the support means to me.

So, in honor of all this support I am going to have _you_ the readers to send in any scenes or ideas you have for season two of NLG. While I have the basic stuff set for the next portion of the story, I want to see what my readers wish to see. So send me PM's of something you want to see happen, whether it be a single scene, a chapter idea, a plot line, an OC, whatever you want. I intend to get every single person who PM's me their spot in this story.

That's all for today. Can't wait to see what you guys send me!

-Love AFangirlofSorts


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: Alright, season two is here! I got quite a few scene and character request over PM which made me really happy. Expect to see them in upcoming chapters.**

 **Here's the new summary for both stories. Not sure how I feel about it yet, but I might change it later on.**

 **Summary: Skye had spent all her life looking for her parents, only fate would have her move down the hall from her mother, Agent Melinda May, the Cavalry. In SHIELD Skye had found the one thing always wanted, a family. She had it all, until it fell apart and now she will do everything in power to hold on and never let go to what's left. Never Let Go complete. Season two now up.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2.0**

May awoke with a jolt, her heart pulsing in her ears as she struggled to catch her breath. The older woman sat upright looking around her room trying to remember where she was and what she was doing here.

 _The Playground_.

It was another one of Fury's secret bases similar to Providence. The only real difference between the Playground and Providence was how they were hidden. While Providence was camouflaged in the mountains of snow, the Playground existed mostly under a city. The parts of the base that stood above ground were no different than any of the other structures surrounding them.

May pushed the covers off of her slightly trembling form letting her bare feet press against the cold stone floor. It had been a few months since the fall of SHIELD, but despite popular belief, the organization was still kicking. Although not as strong or as put together as before, it was definitely still SHIELD. Coulson had been made the Director by Fury and had been doing a good job at keeping the place up and running, especially considering how little there was to start with and the short amount of people involved.

Though more agents had come in willing to stick with SHIELD, a surplus of agents had left or had turned out to be Hydra. Agents like Ward came to May's mind. Not even a month after he had been locked away, he had escaped and neither SHIELD nor the police could find him. Skye had worked on trying to find him, but she had no luck.

 _You can't keep her from me Melinda!_

May's heart fluttered in her chest, the words of dream Cal filling her mind again. The message he sent to her had her paranoid that he was going to show up out of nowhere, but after months he had yet to send another message or make an appearance. Though grateful, it made May even more curious to know what exactly he was planning. May rushed out of her room into the dimly lit hall, she needed to check on Skye. Even though there was no way that Cal could get in here and, she would never admit this out loud, she was still afraid of what he would do.

The man she had met in Spain all those years ago was gone and only a madman remained. The images of May's nightmare came to the forefront of her mind. Cal with the twisted glee in his brown eyes. Skye being ripped away from her. Coulson being killed in the crossfire. It was all too much, almost as bad as her dreams of Bahrain. The only different between the two, one was a memory and the other a terrible idea.

May stopped out of Skye's room. She quietly opened the door. When Skye had agreed to continue her training with May, she had been forced to wake up at ungodly hours. The earliest being three in the morning. May hadn't checked the time on her way here, but figured she would let Skye sleep a little longer. However when she opened the door, she was concerned when she didn't Skye sprawled out on her bed like she usually was at this hour. May forced her nightmares and worries away, knowing that Skye would most likely still be around the base doing who knows what.

She closed the door and made her way to the kitchen, the second most common place anyone could find Skye besides the cars parked out in the hangar. May entered the room to find just the person she was looking for along with the usually locked up Director, who had taken to burying himself in work and either hiding in his office or out of the base doing God knows what.

Skye was leaning over the island counter, her hair tied in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder and bangs hanging over her forehead. From the looks of it she was still wearing her white pajama shirt. Coulson stood beside her with a cup of what May assumed was coffee in hand, a warm smile on his face that Skye returned with ease. Ever since the fall of SHIELD, May had noticed that Skye had started to withdraw herself more and more each day. Becoming more serious a little too often. Always calculating and analyzing, working and training day and night. What had happened to the dorky hacker that May had met?

 _Easy, she saw the world as it was_ , answered an unwelcome voice.

It was only in the quiet times like this that Skye seemed to be a little like her old self. Skye turned, her eyes landed on May. At first there was surprise, but the surprise faded into happiness. Despite the many, _many_ , arguments the two of them had-had over the past few months, their relationship had certainly grown.

"Morning," Skye greeted.

Coulson followed her sight to see May. May saw Coulson more often than most of the people in the base ever did, on average was once or twice every few days. Unless of course he was out traveling, then she had to make sure he contacted her every few days. Skye, along with just about every other person here except Koenig, saw him once a week, maybe twice if she was lucky.

He grinned, "Hi May."

May acknowledged, "Morning to you two. Having a coffee session? You shouldn't be having coffee."

Coulson frowned, "It's keeping me awake."

Skye only smiled sweetly.

May narrowed her eyes, "You I get needing it. Skye, I don't."

Skye's smile turned into a half hearted smirk, "Would it make you feel better if I told you it was de-caf?"

"No," May deadpanned.

"Well good because it's not," Skye replied taking a sip.

Coulson chuckled, "Skye was telling me about your ban on all things delicious. Glad to know training is going well."

"If she would listen to me," May said giving a pointed look to Skye.

"I listen," Skye commented, "Most of the time."

"In your dreams," May remarked dryly joining them at the island.

Coulson smiled at the two women. He really missed talking to his team, but with everything he had to do left him very little time to see any of them. May inserted herself into his schedule. Skye had tried without success. Simmons was gone, the only thing he heard from her was through observations made by Agent Morse. Fitz had taken to himself more and more everyday. Though Coulson did leave Fitz little gifts every so often which the young scientist appreciated.

Coulson didn't want to think about Ward, but the man had come to his mind. Both Fitz and Simmons had given hesitant and unsure reports about the incident after it had happened. Simmons recapped what he had told them, though she wasn't sure if Ward had meant what he said. All Fitz had said about it was that Ward tried. Skye hadn't given much of an opinion over it, she was just glad he was gone for now.

"-on, the ice bucket? That was pretty terrible."

Coulson was brought out of his musings by Skye's voice. He glanced between the two of them wondering what they were talking about.

"You didn't respond when I called your name," May defended with a smirk.

Skye scoffed, "Whatever, the fog horn had to be the worst. I mean what the hell. Who does that to someone at five in the morning."

Coulson laughed softly, now understanding what the two were talking about, "Your mother is cruel in the mornings. I think the fire sprinklers were the worst, though the fog horn was pretty bad."

"No need to tell me twice," Skye said sipping at her own coffee.

May smirked, but made no comment.

"She get you with water balloons yet," Coulson asked.

Skye nodded still sipping her drink.

Coulson smirked, "Tackling?"

"Like to give me a damn heart attack," Skye muttered, just loud enough for both agents to hear.

May shrugged her shoulders, "Sometimes I have to be creative. Keeps things interesting."

"If you say so," Skye said with a head shake.

May smiled, but made no verbal comment. Instead she made herself some tea while she would watch Coulson and Skye. May could never say this out loud, but she was finding herself thinking it more often than not. Skye and Coulson were practically a father daughter pair from the gecko. It astounded May how much she wished that it wasn't through circumstance, but that it were through blood instead. May sighed, she would never regret what happened with Cal because despite it all, he gave her something she never would have had on her own. The most wonderful woman to ever walk this world. A daughter of her own. There was nothing more precious than that.

"So what's the plan for today," Skye asked after Coulson left to travel more.

May grinned, "I figured we'd work with weapons. Try some new things."

Skye nodded, "Sounds good to me. How long will we be training?"

"Why do you ask," May questioned, "Got a hot date?"

Skye snorted, "Very funny. I'm asking because I told Fitz I was going to work with him this afternoon. The program I made is helping, but I'm going to see it for myself instead of just reports."

While Skye had gone under some changes, Fitz and Simmons had gone through their transformation was well. Fitz nearly dying had left him in a coma for nine days. When he had finally woken up, he couldn't speak. It had taken days before he could get a few words out, then weeks before he could finally connect them into sentences. The time he spent without oxygen had left him damaged and scarred.

Simmons, though had no physical or mental damage, had grown to become more distant and had drowned herself in work. There was a hollow look in her eyes now where the once bright sparks used to be. After almost dying and losing Fitz, she was no longer the same innocent and light hearted scientist she once was. When Simmons left, everyone knew that it had hurt her just as much as it hurt Fitz. The science duo had been split and it hurt everyone who knew how close they are or sadly were.

May nodded, her expression softening, "We'll end at lunch."

"Awesome," Skye said putting her cup away, "Coulson told me he put together a mission for us, going to give it to Hartley. You, me and Trip are going to shadow them."

"Anything to do with the SHIELD items you've been tracking," May questioned, even though she already knew the answer.

Majority of Skye's time had been occupied by her doing searches to find a large some of SHIELD's missing inventory. A lot of the objects were seized by the government.

Skye nodded in reply, "Yeah. Lance and Hartley are going to make a bid for this thing that we'll observe."

"Any idea what they'll be bidding for," May asked a bit curious.

"No idea," Skye replied, "But I know it had a level nine or ten security clearance. Something big."

May nodded, "We'll deal with that later. Get changed, you have laps to do."

"What, why," Skye practically shrieked in surprise.

"Because I said so," May answered, leaving her groaning daughter in the kitchen, "Five minutes."

 **Three Weeks Later**

Skye was annoyed, the deal had gone south with Hartley and Hunter. Everything had gone just as expected until a third party, a fairly tall man who was bulletproof, had joined in taking the files that they needed. This left the agents and mercenary with a new enemy and no new information. Well that wasn't entirely true. Skye had learned that if Hartley and Hunter were the highest bidders, that meant the former SHIELD agent, Browning, had sent word far and wide about this intel.

Not to mention she was a bit irritated with Coulson. Though she could understand that he was busy a lot, especially trying to run this place and get more recruits, she was still bothered about how scarcely she saw him. She knew it was childish, but she couldn't help it. She brought the metal shards to the lab so they could be analyzed.

On the way she spotted Fitz outside the common area leaning against the brick wall with a far off gaze. Skye frowned at him. He used to be more talkative, but ever since he came out of the coma he could barely string a full sentence together without stuttering every other word or not finding the right word. It honestly broke Skye's heart to see her friend like this. Not to mention how much worse he's been since Simmons left.

"Hey Fitz," Skye said, pulling him from his thoughts.

Over the past few months he had decided to grow out his chin and upper lip hairs giving him a small beard. Even though the look suited him, it bothered Skye how much more grown and haunted he looked. However she knew she didn't look that much better off.

"Hey S-S-Skye," he said, not meeting her gaze, "Umm how was t-the… um…uh"

"The mission," Skye provided, when Fitz nodded, she continued, "It went alright. Ran into an unexpected third party and lost the file. This guy who came in was bulletproof.. I'm ah going to bring this stuff into the lab if you wanted to take a look at it."

Fitz turned his head to look at Skye with a deep frown. The lab reminded him of the old days, when it was him and Simmons, or him and his team. Each time sent more pangs through his heart, which was why he had been avoiding the lab and stuck to engineering and tinkering with stuff lying around. Coulson had him working on the cloaking devices, but he was still too slow and the progress was taking far too long in everyone's mind. Not that anyone would say so, but Fitz knew it was true.

"N-No thanks," Fitz answered sadly, "I-I would just ah… t-take too… long."

"Fitz-" Skye started to say, but he cut her off.

"I-It's true… Skye… I'll-I'll uh see… y-you later."

Without another word, the scientist walked away from his friend leaving her. Fitz hated how everything had changed over these few months. SHIELD's fall. Ward's betrayal. Simmons leaving. Coulson's absence. May's pity glances. Skye's withdrawal. His damage. The team he had come to see as a second family was all but broken and shattered. Everything they once had was gone. It would never come back no matter how much he wished it could.

Skye released a heavy sigh. She wanted to help him, everyone he knew wanted to, but none of them would be enough. He needed Simmons, but she wasn't here. Skye knew why Simmons left, even though Coulson and May didn't know that she knew. Coulson had been the one to send Simmons away, it had been the scientists request though. Skye knew that Simmons wanted to leave because her staying hurt Fitz as much as her leaving did. It was a lose-lose situation.

* * *

May was irritated, though no one would be able to tell. Her face was the picture of calm, maybe a bit stern, but nothing to show her true emotions. Coulson had been running himself ragged for months on end trying to rebuild SHIELD with the instructions Fury left behind along with trying to play it by ear. It worked sometimes, but not always.

"Sorry," May heard him say as she entered his office, "That's all I can give you. Try to move up with your head down. And, hey, only use the dead drop from now on. There aren't enough pay phones left in this country." He put the phone down to see May standing at the door, "Hi."

May gave him a stern look as he walked to his desk, "You're the man in charge, but I'm in charge of you, remember? I had two rules."

"Avoid field operations," Coulson said looking through papers.

"And check in with me every few days," May finished, her tone borderline worried and annoyed, "It's been two weeks."

Coulson nodded finally looking at her, "And I'm flying back out tonight, I have to focus on recruitment. It's starting to wear me down."

"The hours," May questioned.

Coulson shook his head, he moved to the shelf on his right as he spoke, "The numbers. Between the traitors, military detainees, and the sell-outs in the private sector, the people who could possibly be considered loyal to SHIELD is not impressive and they're scattered all over the damn globe."

May said knowingly, "Well, you have no choice but to meet them face-to-face, get a read on them."

"I know, and I prefer it," Coulson admitted, "But flying economy blows. Any progress on the cloaking equipment?"

"Like I can tell," May remarked dryly, "All I know is Fitz has been working on it."

Coulson's expression softened at the mention of the scientist, "How is Fitz? He doing alright?"

"As can be expected, his speech gotten better," May answered, "Though with Simmons still gone, he's struggling."

Coulson nodded, "Yeah… Simmons is doing fine according to Agent Morse, she's finding some useful intel and her acting as improved. What about Skye?"

"She's fine, annoyed with not seeing you, but fine," May replied, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

Coulson frowned, he hated not being able to see his team as often as he used to, but at the same time he knew he had a job to do. He didn't want any of his team members to feel as though he had forgotten about them because he hadn't. If anything, Skye, May and Fitzsimmons were on his mind almost all the time. Coulson had played with those thoughts before. It was almost as if he were the traveling dad and husband who could only think of his wife and three kids waiting for him at home. In sense, it was kind of true.

"I do feel bad about not being around as often, but until I can get SHIELD up and running further," Coulson paused for a moment, not finishing his sentence.

"They understand," May told him.

Coulson started putting files away again, changing the subject he said, "I'll have to look into the cloaking device again. We need it, badly. Our plane's been gathering dust for months, but I still can't risk a takeoff with Talbot trying to throw us on a bonfire, so flying coach it is. Though I did score an exit row on the way back from London."

"And what was in London," May asked.

"Allies," answered Coulson, he clicked a button on his desk and the screen on the wall turned into a map, "ready to be activated, if necessary. It's a decent start, but it's gonna be slow-going without more resources."

"Bad news on that front.," May started handing him the mission report, "We were hoping agent Browning would be a friend and if not, at least sell us tech. Negative on both."

"The assassin… Hydra," Coulson asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Likely, possibly gifted, killed Browning. He wanted the intel. Another 0-8-4, I guess."

Coulson acknowledged that with a nod before asking, "What's your assessment of Hartley's people?"

May frowned, "You know what I think. They're mercenaries, here for the money." "But what's your assessment," Coulson pressed. May sighed, "They're _good_ mercenaries."

"Well, Hartley spent a lot of years undercover. Those are the kinds of friends you make, if she trusts them…" Coulson stopped talking as he read over the report.

May frowned at the silence and change in his expression, "What?"

"SSR," Coulson breathed out, "I just read about this."

"It's not in any of the history books," May stated, though it sounded uncertain.

"No," Coulson told her, "It's in Fury's toolbox." Coulson picked up the phone, he spoke to Koenig, "Koenig, cancel my flights."

Coulson didn't wait for the man's reply, knowing he would do it. This was terrible. Coulson knew about this 0-8-4, about how dangerous it was without having any idea with what was inside the box.

May looked concerned, "What did it say about this? An 0-8-4 could be anything from a tool to a person that much we've learned."

Coulson didn't comment on the mention of the person 0-8-4. He knew that news to May hadn't gone over well, but the fact that she said it spoke volumes. However now wasn't the time to comment on that, not to mention the other discovery he made several nights ago.

"It's not just an 0-8-4," Coulson answered, his brow creased, "It's the first and all Fury knew about was the trail of bodies that follows it. Talbot's saying he's beaten both sides, but we're just hiding underground. If Hydra gets their hands on this, they may not have to."


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter Two**

"Back so soon Doug," questioned the bartender.

The young man released a sigh as he took a seat at the counter removing his blue baseball cap. At first glance _Doug_ seemed like just an average man, but if people could see much deeper than the surface they would find a number of horrors buried behind those dark eyes. Former Agent Grant Ward had spent the past few months hiding in a smaller town where he purchased an apartment that he could return to every couple of days. Though he knew staying in one place for too long would be too dangerous, he hoped his bouncing around would help out.

Ever since the fall of SHIELD, he had been following up on leads and the story that Raina had told him before everything had gone to shit. If it was true and Skye was connected, he could make up for everything he had done wrong. At least he hoped it would be a step in the right direction. While he had been following this search, he had been able to help SHIELD as an anonymous agent who still wanted to do good, but not be as involved. By some miracle SHIELD hadn't tracked him or connected the fake agent to the rogue Grant Ward.

"Yeah," replied Doug, "Just got out of interview."

Interview was the nice way of putting it considering it was more of an interrogation with a borderline amount of torture added into the mix. Grant was thankful to have brought leather gloves with him that hid the dried blood on his knuckles.

The bartender nodded, "Hope it went well."

Doug forced a pleasant smile on his bearded face, "I think it went as expected."

Every lead Grant had followed so far had ended with him no closer to trying to find this mystery man, brought him no closer to making up for his mistakes than he was when he started this hunt. The doubt had already crept into his mind, but he was determined to find this doctor and the right all his wrongs. He had a promise, promises he should say, to keep after all.

* * *

May walked out of Coulson's office to gather the mercenaries for their debrief. Though May wasn't against them, she definitely wasn't their biggest fan. She found the three of them in the common room going through the kitchen.

"Hartley, Hunter, Idaho," May called out.

The senior agent stopped in front of the table where Hartley was seated and currently eating her meal. Hunter and Idaho were still taking food out.

"What's the word," Hartley asked curious.

"In his office," was May's simple reply.

Idaho questioned, "The director requests an audience?"

"Oh the man doesn't do request," commented Hunter, "And listen. When we get in there, no matter what you do, don't look him in the eye."

Idaho frowned, "Really?"

Hunter stared into his eyes, "nah he's alright."

Hunter walked away, Idaho and Hartley at his heels.

Hartley spoke next, "You should both focus on not saying anything overly stupid."

"As if we ever say anything stupid," Idaho retorted.

Hunter smirked, "Speak for yourself mate."

May shook her head. Not their biggest fan, but she wasn't against them. They were, after all, very good at their jobs. May turned around to find Skye entering the room, hopefully with a report on the materials. The older woman studied the young agent, it wasn't hard to tell that the once innocent and quirky girl was being replaced by another woman.

Skye was changing, but May feared it may not be for the better.

"You take the materials to the lab," May asked.

Skye frowned, "I was supposed to take them to the lab?"

May stared at Skye.

A grin broke out on the young woman's face, "Kidding. I did bring them to the lab, but I'm not sure what that'll get us."

May sighed, "How's the mood in there today?"

Skye didn't answer right away. Her brown eyes shimmered for a moment, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Nothing had been the same since the fall of SHIELD. That wasn't a surprise, but even after all this time the transition hadn't been smooth and the mention or any indication to what it was like before had a negative effect.

Skye inhaled, "As good as can be expected."

May nodded, but offered no words in reply.

Skye was about to leave, but May grabbed her wrist, "Daisy."

Skye raised her eyebrows, her mother never used her birth name unless the situation was dire, or she was extremely angry. Though Skye didn't mind her mother calling her by her 'real' name, it sounded strange to her ears. Skye knew it was because she just wasn't used to it and honestly it hurt Skye to know that her real name would never truly be hers.

"Pulling out my first name eh," Skye said with a small smile.

May frowned, "Training's cancelled tomorrow. We're going out on an assignment."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "We are?"

"Yes," May replied letting go of Skye's arm, "8 o'clock sharp."

Skye nodded, "Alright. See you then."

Skye left after that. May watched Skye disappear from the room, a thoughtful frown on her face. She was incredibly proud of Skye for the strong young woman she has become. Yet it broke her heart to know that she had to be strong, that she was the woman she was and it wasn't because of anything May had done. Even over all this time, Skye had always had to be strong for the sake of herself and had to do it alone. She might not have been alone anymore, May could never stop the guilt and grief over not being there.

* * *

Fitz needed time. Ever since he woke from the coma, he was struggling. Then when Simmons left he got worse, started talking to "Simmons" a lot. Fitz knew the Simmons he was speaking to all the time wasn't his Simmons, but she was the closest thing he had to her. She was all he had from her along with memories. Even though Fitz knew he wasn't alone, no one could really understand how much he was struggling. After all, it wasn't like any of them could look into his mind.

"Maybe you should try to open up to them more," 'Simmons' said from his right.

Fitz lifted his head to look at her. Her auburn hair was tied into a low ponytail, her fair skin almost too clear. She looked as if she was fresh out of the Academy again, not like how she was now or how Fitz had last seen her. No, this was like seeing a distant memory of her that Fitz wished was still here.

Fitz scoffed, "N-No one would.. Ah.. they w-wouldn't…" Fitz snapped his fingers trying to find the word. He knew it, it was right there, but he couldn't get it to leave his tongue.

"Understand," 'Simmons' supplied.

"Yes, that," Fitz sighed.

No one would understand what it was like to be in his mind. He couldn't talk about it, he could never form the words or keep his wits long enough to get it out. Even with the help Skye was giving him, he still couldn't open up to her. Only Simmons, she was the only one he felt like he could talk to. Fitz shook his head and walked out of the lab. He needed to keep working on the cloaking technology, he knew had to and that everyone was waiting for him to complete it yet… he just couldn't. Skye told him it was nothing to worry about, that he could get through this.

The only problem was Fitz didn't believe her, he didn't believe in anything anymore.

* * *

Simmons hated where she worked. She knew when she signed onto this mission that she would have to deal with a lot of things she didn't like, but now it was starting to get under her skin. Weeks ago, Simmons had volunteered to go on any mission that involved her leaving the base. When she had said this Coulson, she remembered the senior agent being taken aback. Who wouldn't have been?

Simmons had never been a huge fan of field work, yet here she was before the new Director practically begging to be placed elsewhere. Simmons went over the exchange as she typed at her desk, her heart beat faster than normal the longer she remained in this building.

" _Why the sudden interest to leave base," Coulson asked her, his brow raised._

 _Simmons shrugged her shoulders, "I know we're tight on agents and I suspect that there could be a time when you won't be able to call on the usual people to go out and do something. I want to help in whatever way I can."_

 _"You're helping here," Coulson pointed out._

 _"I want to do more," Simmons replied, a bit more forcefully than she wanted._

 _Coulson frowned, "But that doesn't explain why you want you to leave the base."_

 _Simmons swallowed. How could she admit the real reason she wanted to leave base without sounding horrible? She couldn't really, which was the problem. Coulson was like another father to her, or like an uncle. Of course she trusted him, but she didn't want to admit her reasons. It was a reason she couldn't wrestle with no matter how much she tried._

 _"It's because of Fitz, isn't it," Coulson said after a moment of silence._

 _Simmons stared at him, "What, no sir. It's n-not-"_

 _"Save it," Coulson interrupted, "I know a lots happened, but running away won't change anything."_

 _Simmons frowned, "I'm not running away… I'm not helping Fitz by being here."_

 _"But how do you think he would react if you left," Coulson questioned._

 _Simmons shrugged sadly, "I don't know sir. I just know I have to leave. Either on a mission or…."_

 _Simmons didn't want to finish that last part, but she knew Coulson got the message._

 _"Alright," he said, "It just so happens I do have a mission for you."_

That mission turned out to be one Simmons wasn't thrilled about. Though it did get her away from base, it also landed her into one of the hearts of Hydra. Simmons was meant to be on the inside and gather information about Hydra, as much as she could without drawing any eyes. It was easier said than done, but Simmons was pleased with the fact that no one suspected her.

Though she feared that this could change any day, she knew that there were two SHIELD agents here watching over her, one of them the famous Mockingbird. Though Simmons had never formally met the woman, she did know the agent's face and where she was at most times. The other agent was not someone who Simmons knew by name or could recognize. For all she knew the man next to her could be the other agent. Simmons didn't really care to know at this point. She released a sigh and continued to work on the latest project that she needed to send to Coulson.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys. I know it's been a long time since my last update and I'm not filling this note with excuses. For awhile now I just couldn't find it in me to want to write anymore, which was strange considering how much I loved it and usually couldn't go a day without it. Yet, somethings happened and I no longer had that love in me. It wasn't gone exactly, but it wasn't all there either. It's kind of like when you can barely reach something. Where your fingers can touch it, but you can't grab it. That's how I felt about writing. I could touch it, I knew I still enjoyed it, but I just couldn't do it for reasons. I'm not all the way back into it, but I'm slowly getting there. I don't know when the next chapter will be, I still have outlines and plans for it and all that, but when I'll be able to write is the question. I'm sorry for the wait, I feel terrible doing that to you guys. It sucks having to wait for a new chapter for ages at a time, but it's all I can give at this point. That's just how it happened. If you stick around, great. If not, I understand.**


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